ConocoPhillips posts profit, but misses expectations

ConocoPhillips surprised Wall Street by posting an adjusted loss in the first quarter, even though the oil and gas company's profit and revenue got a boost from higher oil prices, cost cutting and the sale of assets.

Shares of ConocoPhillips, which are already down about 5 percent this year, slipped 20 cents to $47.28 before the stock market opened Tuesday.

Energy companies have been reporting improving results as oil prices rise from a year ago. Rival Chevron, for example, posted a profit last week after reporting a loss in the same period a year ago. ConocoPhillips said that its total realized price for each barrel of oil equivalent was $36.18, up from $22.94 a year ago.

ConocoPhillips reported net income of $777 million, or 62 cents per share, in the first quarter, compared with a loss of $1.47 billion, or $1.18 per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

It had an adjusted loss of 2 cents per share, when one-time gains related to its sale of Canadian assets were taken out. Analysts expected earnings of 1 cent per share, according to Zacks Investment Research.

The Houston company said revenue jumped 55 percent to $7.77 billion, beating expectations of $7.47 billion, according to Zacks.

_____

Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on COP at https://www.zacks.com/ap/COP

_____

Keywords: ConocoPhillips, Earnings Report