Oil and natural gas company Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR) said Wednesday after the markets closed that its fourth quarter profit jumped 150% from last year, helped by a hefty benefit from anticipated recovery of U.S. federal royalties as well as higher oil sales prices, increased natural gas sales volumes and lower exploration expenses.
The El Dorado, Arkansas-based company reported net income for the fourth quarter of $318.8 million or $1.65 per share, compared to $127.4 million or $0.67 per share for the year-ago quarter.
The latest quarter results include a $185.3 million benefit from anticipated recovery of deepwater federal royalties previously paid for certain oil and gas properties in the Gulf of Mexico and a $31.3 million charge associated with an anticipated reduction of the company's working interest in the Terra Nova field.
On average, 15 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.85 per share for the fourth quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Revenue for the fourth quarter rose 33% to $5.87 billion from $4.41 billion in the same quarter last year. Three analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $3.93 billion for the fourth quarter.
Fourth quarter income from the company's continuing exploration and production operations rose to $339.1 million from $68.6 million a year ago, mainly due to the anticipated recovery of U.S. federal deepwater Gulf of Mexico royalties as well as higher oil sales prices, increased natural gas sales volumes and lower exploration expenses.
The company's crude oil, condensate and gas liquids production increased 13% to 138,269 barrels per day in the fourth quarter from 122,303 barrels per day in the fourth quarter of last year. The company attributed the improvement in oil production volumes mainly to volumes produced at the Thunder Hawk field in the Gulf of Mexico and the Azurite field offshore Republic of the Congo, both of which came on line in the third quarter.
Oil sales volumes averaged 130,386 barrels per day in the fourth quarter, compared to 131,543 barrels per day in the prior year quarter.
The company's worldwide crude oil, condensate and gas liquids sales prices averaged $67.59 per barrel for the fourth quarter, up from $49.51 per barrel in the fourth quarter of last year.
Natural gas sales volumes in the fourth quarter improved to 306 million cubic feet per day from 53 million cubic feet per day a year earlier, mainly due to start-up of Sarawak natural gas production in September as well as higher production at the Tupper area in Western Canada and at the Kikeh field, offshore Sabah Malaysia, both of which started up in December 2008.
North American natural gas sales prices averaged $4.17 per thousand cubic feet in the fourth quarter, compared to $7.13 per thousand cubic feet in the same quarter last year.
The company's refining and marketing operations incurred a loss of $4.1 million in the fourth quarter, compared to income of $140.5 million in the year-ago quarter.
For the full year, the company reported net income of $837.6 million or $4.35 per share, compared to $1.74 billion or $9.06 per share for the full year 2008.
The 2009 results include income from discontinued operations of $97.1 million or $0.50 per share, the $185.3 million benefit from an anticipated recovery of federal royalties and associated interest, while the 2008 results included gain on sales of two properties in Canada.
Looking forward, the company said it expects first quarter earnings to be in the range of $0.80 to $0.95 per share. Analysts currently expect the company to earn $1.20 per share for the first quarter.
Murphy Oil expects total worldwide production in the first quarter to be 192,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Sales volumes are expected to be 198,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day during the quarter.
Earlier Wednesday, ConocoPhillips (COP) reported a $1.2 billion profit for the fourth quarter compared to a significant loss reported last year, when results included a huge goodwill impairment. Adjusted earnings per share for the latest quarter topped analysts' expectations.
Among others in the industry, Chevron Corp. (CVX) said earlier this month that it expected fourth quarter earnings to be lower than that recorded in the third quarter, hurt by weaker downstream results due to weaker refining margins. The company reports fourth quarter earnings Friday.
Murphy Oil shares, which have traded in a range of $37.96 to $65.12 over the past year, closed Wednesday's regular trading session at $51.87, down 25 cents but lost 85 cents or 1.64% in after hours trading.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.