Nexen Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, Shares Trading Higher

Nexen Inc., Canada's fourth-largest independent oil explorer, reported a 9.8% decline in Q2 EPS due to a one-off gain in the prior year period, but beat analysts' average EPS estimate by C$0.09. Its shares were up 3% to $34.56 in early trading in Toronto. Nexen's Q2 sales rose 35% and it set a new record with C$1.70/share of cash flow. Production after royalties increased 9% to 208,000 boe/d. "The timing of several of our projects has slipped but this has not impacted project returns. As a result of these timing delays, we will likely be at or slightly below the lower end of our guidance range of 275,000 boe/d to 305,000 boe/d for the full year," said Nexen President and CEO Charlie Fischer. Nexen's 43% stake in the Buzzard field in the North Sea helped boost daily production by 18%. Fischer said the company expects pre-tax annual cash flow generation of about C$1.6b from Buzzard once it is producing at full facility. Nexen's NYSE-listed shares gained 2.5% to $32.79 on Wednesday.

Sources: Press release, Bloomberg, MarketWatch
Commentary: Big-Cap Oil Companies Likely To Exceed Expectations • Blackmont: Nexen, Talisman To Benefit More from Oil Price Differences Than Canadian Natural, EnCana • Gimme Credit: Nexen Has Good Growth Potential
Stocks/ETFs to watch: Nexen Inc. (NXY). Competitors: Petro-Canada (PCZ), BP plc (BP), Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM).

Seeking Alpha's news briefs are combined into a pre-market summary called Wall Street Breakfast. Get Wall Street Breakfast by email -- it's free and takes only seconds to sign up.