Hess 1Q Net Income at 386 Mln

Hess Corporation reported net income of $386 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2014.

Adjusted earnings, which exclude items affecting comparability, were $446 million, compared with $669 million in the prior year quarter. The decrease in adjusted earnings was primarily due to the impact on operating earnings related to divesting E&P assets and downstream businesses.

The after-tax income (loss) by major operating activity was as follows:

First Quarter Highlights:

• Net income was $386 million, compared to $1,276 million in the first quarter of 2013;
• Adjusted earnings were $446 million or $1.38 per share;
• Cash flow from operations before working capital changes was $1.41 billion in the first quarter of 2014;
• Oil and gas production was 318,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in the first quarter and 389,000 boepd in the year-ago quarter. Pro forma production, excluding Libya, was 297,000 boepd in the first quarter of 2014, up 11 percent from 268,000 boepd in 2013;
• The Tioga gas plant expansion project commenced start-up operations with first gas in late March;
• The Corporation purchased 12,6 million common shares during the first quarter, for a cost of approximately $1.0 billion, bringing total shares repurchased under the program to 31.9 million for a total cost of approximately $2.54 billion

John Hess, Chief Executive Officer of Hess, said: “Our results this quarter demonstrate continued execution of our plan to drive cash-generative growth and sustainable returns for our shareholders through a focused portfolio of world-class E&P assets. In the first quarter, our growth assets performed well, with higher production from Valhall and North Malay Basin. In addition, current Bakken production levels are in excess of 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day following completion of the Tioga gas plant expansion. Tubular Bells is on track for first oil in the third quarter and well results from the Utica shale play are encouraging. Overall, we remain very enthusiastic about the prospects for our company in 2014 and beyond.”