Marathon First-Quarter Profit Rises More Than Fourfold on Oil, Gas Gains

Resumen de Prensa            Enervía, viernes, 25 abril 2003

FUENTE: Bloomberg


Marathon Oil Corp., the fourth-largest U.S. oil company, said profit rose more than fourfold in the first quarter because of a surge in oil and natural-gas prices and gains in refining.

Net income increased to $307 million, or 99 cents a share, from $67 million, or 22 cents, in the year-earlier period, the company said in a statement. Revenue rose 57 percent to $10.2 billion.

Profit from exploration and production in the quarter more than tripled to $535 million from the year-earlier period. The average price of oil traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 56 percent to $33.80 a barrel after rising to near $40 a barrel in mid-March. The average price of gas more than doubled.

``Its hard to not make a number when oil prices nearly hit $40,'' said James McGlynn, who manages more than $5 billion at Summit Investment Partners, including 46,000 Marathon shares.

Houston-based Marathon was projected to earn 88 cents a share in the first quarter, the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

Marathon's stock fell 9 cents to $22.85 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They have dropped 21 percent in the past year.

Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC, the company's refining and fuel sales venture with Ashland Inc. produced income of $67 million, compared with a $51 million loss a year ago. Marathon owns 62 percent of the business, which has seven Midwest oil refineries and 3,800 gasoline stations.

Daily oil and gas production fell 2.4 percent to the equivalent of 413.8 million barrels of oil, the statement said.

Asset Sales

The company expects to receive $700 million instead of $400 million from asset sales in 2003, Chief Executive Officer Clarence Cazalot said on a conference call with analysts and investors. At least part of the proceeds will be used to improve the balance sheet, he said.

``We expect to realize somewhat better prices'' for assets for sale in western Canada, Steven Lowden, senior vice president, said on the call.

Marathon will reduce exploration activity in the Gulf of Mexico in 2003, Cazalot said. The company has no plans to exit the Gulf.

In the year-earlier quarter, profit including $40 million in gains from an accounting change and inventory adjustment was $27 million, or 9 cents a share.

Revenue in the first quarter of 2002 was $6.46 billion. Exxon Mobil Corp., ChevronTexaco Corp. and ConocoPhillips rank ahead of Marathon by 2002 revenue.