Pioneer Natural Resources Posts Loss on Lower Revenue

   By Josh Beckerman 
 

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. swung to a loss in the second quarter as revenue fell 30% amid sharply lower energy prices.

The oil and gas company said margins remain strong at its horizontal drilling activities in the Spraberry/Wolfcamp area in Texas and New Mexico "due to our aggressive pursuit of cost reductions and efficiency gains combined with our highly productive wells."

In July, the company said second-quarter production was slightly below its guidance but reiterated its full-year growth goal of more than 10% and said it expected to increase its 2015 capital budget by about $350 million to $2.2 billion.

For the quarter ended June 30, the company posted a loss of $218 million, or $1.46 a share, compared with a profit of $1 million, or one cent a share, a year earlier.

Excluding derivative mark-to-market losses and other items, the company earned $15 million, or 10 cents a share.

Revenue fell to $648 million from $932 million. At the start of the quarter, U.S. oil prices were about half of what they had been on April 1, 2014.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had projected earnings of five cents a share on revenue of $753.75 million.

In July, pipeline company Enterprise Products Partners LP paid $2.15 billion for the Eagle Ford Shale Midstream business, a pipeline joint venture between Pioneer and India's Reliance Industries Ltd.

Write to Josh Beckerman at [e-mail]

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