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Murphy Oil's 2Q profit skyrockets to $627 million Thursday, Jul 31, 2008 By Jason Wiest Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Murphy Oil Corp. reported Wednesday second-quarter earnings of $627 million, a huge jump compared to a $250.3 million profit in the same quarter a year earlier. Revenues rose from $4.6 billion in last year's second quarter to $8.4 billion in this year's second quarter. "Overall financial results have been strong and our operating businesses have been quite active," CEO Claiborne Deming said in a prepared statement. The company will host a conference call with investors about the results today. Higher crude oil prices and sales compared to the comparable quarter accounted for part of the jump. Murphy sold its oil for an average of $110.14 per barrel in the 2008 quarter, compared to an average of $57.19 per barrel in the 2007 quarter. Production rose to 111,493 barrels per day, compared to 79,949 barrels per day in the 2007 quarter. Sales volumes averaged 110,366 barrels per day compared to 83,629 in last year's quarter. Property sales also contributed to the disparity, company officials said. The sale of Canadian properties helped boosted Murphy's earnings by $67.9 million after-taxes in the 2008 quarter, while $24 million in after-tax costs related to the closure of 55 retail gasoline stations negatively impacted earnings in the comparable quarter, company officials said. Increased natural gas sales prices also helped, but the company produced slightly less of it in the second quarter, officials said. Production of natural gas averaged 55 million cubic feet per day, down 2 million cubic feet. Sales prices averaged $11.70 per thousand cubic feet in the 2008 quarter compared to $8.02 per MCF in the 2007 quarter. Refining and marketing income fell to $77.3 million from $124.2 million in the comparable quarter, primarily in North America, where earnings were $5 million compared to $107.2 million in the comparable quarter. Shares of Murphy Oil (NYSE: MUR) rose $5.04 a share Wednesday to $79.09, a 6.8 percent gain. |
