ConocoPhillips Profit Declines as Oil Prices Plunge

By Chelsey Dulaney 

ConocoPhillips said Thursday that its earnings fell less than expected in the first quarter, even as the price it got for each barrel of oil plunged nearly 50%.

Shares edged up 0.7% in premarket trading as the company also backed its guidance for the year.

ConocoPhillips was the first big U.S. oil producer to slash its 2015 capital spending to deal with the plunging price of crude. In March, it said it would curb capital spending through 2017 to reflect expectations that commodities prices will remain volatile.

ConocoPhillips has said it would cut back on exploring for new sources of oil and gas, as well as on drilling in some shale formations in North America, including the Niobrara in Colorado.

For the first quarter, ConocoPhillips' average realized price plunged to $36.96 a barrel from $71.21 a barrel a year ago. Meanwhile, its production level edged up slightly to 1.61 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, excluding Libya.

Overall, ConocoPhillips reported a profit of $272 million, or 22 cents a share, compared with $2.12 billion, or $1.71 a share, a year ago.

Excluding a deferred tax benefit, the company posted a per-share loss of 18 cents, compared with a profit of $1.81 a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a per-share loss of 19 cents.

Operating costs fell to $2.1 billion from $2.3 billion a year ago.

Write to Chelsey Dulaney at [e-mail]

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires