Encana Swings to Loss

Encana Corp. reported another steep quarterly loss Friday, hurt for the second consecutive quarter by a significant impairment charge and a continued slump in oil and gas prices.

The Calgary, Alberta-based energy company booked a $1.3 billion impairment charge in its latest quarter, leading to an overall loss of $1.6 billion.

Even without the charge, Encana swung to an operating loss of $167 million, or 20 cents a share, which missed the Thomson Reuters mean estimate for a loss of 16 cents. A year earlier, Encana had an operating profit of $171 million, or 23 cents a share.

Operators in Canada's energy patch have been hard hit by slumping commodity prices, leading many to scale back spending and trim staff. In June, Encana said it planned additional job cuts beyond an earlier 25% staff cut it already had implemented.

The company didn't provide specific details about planned job cuts in its release Friday, although it said it continued streamlining its operations during the quarter.

Encana, which has been shifting its focus toward more crude-oil production and away from its traditional focus on natural gas, said cash flow for the quarter fell 72% to $181 million.

Natural-gas production was down 38% from a year earlier, while oil and gas liquids production jumped 87%. Prices for both were lower, with the company's realized natural-gas price declining nearly 14% and oil and gas liquids prices down 37%.

Encana said it remains on track to meet its 2015 cash flow guidance of $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion.

Write to Judy McKinnon at [e-mail]

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