California Resources Corp. handily beat Wall Street expectations on earnings and revenue for the third quarter.
The Valencia oil and natural gas producer reported on Thursday adjusted net income of $151 million ($1.83 a share) for the quarter ending Sept. 30, compared with an adjusted net loss of $55 million (-$1.68) in the same period a year earlier. Revenue increased by 44 percent to $588 million.
Analysts on average expected earnings of 70 cents on revenue of $484 million, according to Thomson Financial Network.
Chief Executive Mark “Mac” McFarland said the third quarter results continued to reflect strong operational performance.
The financial results enabled California Resources to further enhance its shareholder return strategy by initiating a quarterly cash dividend, McFarland said.
“We expect to have more than $325 million of cash on hand at year end after share repurchases and a cash dividend payment,” McFarland added in a statement.
The company’s board declared a quarterly dividend of 17 cents a share of common stock, totaling about $14 million payable in the fourth quarter.
Additionally, California Resources repurchased 3.1 million shares for $104 million through Nov. 5, under the share repurchase program for an average price of $33.99 a share.
California Resources reported its earnings before the market opened. Its shares (CRC) closed up $1.07, or more than 2 percent, to $45.37 on the New York Stock Exchange, on a day when the Dow Jones closed down at a fraction of a percent.