(RTTNews) -  Thursday, oil and natural gas producer Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN: News ) reported a lower profit for the third quarter, primarily due to lower oil prices, more than offsetting higher production in the quarter. Looking ahead, the company raised its full year and fourth quarter production outlook.

The Houston, Texas-based company's third quarter net income attributable to shareholders was $118.25 million or $0.34 per share, down from $218.17 million or $0.63 per share in the same period last year.

The higher production volumes during the quarter was offset by the significantly lower oil prices. The year-ago second quarter included an after-tax gain on the sale of the company's utility assets of $35.4 million or $0.10 per share.

On average, 26 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.34 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Operating revenues for the quarter was $502.9 million, down from $683.0 million in the preceding year period. Fourteen Wall Street analysts expected revenues of $387.41 million for the quarter.

Revenues from gas sales declined to $369.96 million from $433.70 million a year-ago. Gas marketing revenues slipped to $113.64 million from $226.89 million last year, and oil sales dropped to $1.81 million from $9.56 million a year ago. Gas gathering revenues, however, rose to $17.44 million from $12.66 million in the prior year quarter.

In the sequentially preceding second quarter, net income was $121.1 million or $0.35 per share, compared to $136.6 million or $0.39 per share in the year-ago quarter. Operating revenues for the second quarter fell 21% to $477.52 million from $604.37 million in the same quarter last year.
For the quarter under review, operating income from the company's E&P segment was $172.0 million, down from $280.6 million for the same period last year.

Total equivalent production from E&P segment was 73.2 billion cubic feet equivalent or Bcfe, up from 52.8 Bcfe last year, as gas production rose to 73 billion cubic feet or Bcf from 52.4 Bcf for the same period last year.

The segment's average gas price including hedges per thousand cubic feet or Mcf dropped to $5.06 from $8.56 last year and excluding hedges average gas price per Mcf was $2.85, down from $8.82 a year earlier.

The company's natural gas gathering and marketing activities unit, midstream services segment's operating income was $25.1 million, up from $18.3 million in the same period a year-ago. The segment's gas volumes marketed rose to 98.3 Bcf from 71.6 Bcf last year and gas volumes gathered climbed to 93.0 Bcf from 64.6 Bcf a year earlier.

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