Anadarko Posts Loss On Tronox Settlement, Output Up

 

Anadarko Petroleum Corp reported a big quarterly loss on Monday, compared with a year-earlier profit, as a previously announced $5.15 billion settlement related to Tronox Ltd litigation hurt results.

Anadarko, based in Houston, lost $2.7 billion, or $5.30 per share in the first quarter, compared with a profit of $460 million, or 91 cents per share, in same quarter a year earlier.

Adjusting for one-time items, Anadarko earned $1.26 per share. Wall Street analysts on average had expected $1.15 per share.

Anadarko said its average oil and gas production rose 3.2 percent to a record 819,000 barrels oil equivalent per day (boed), boosted by output from wells in fields including the Eagle Ford in south Texas and the Wattenberg in Colorado.

In April, Anadarko said it would pay more than $5 billion to resolve a long-running lawsuit over environmental liabilities it inherited in a 2006 acquisition that included Tronox.

The litigation had been a big overhang on the company's stock, which is up 15 percent since the pact was announced.

Shares of Anadarko rose to $101.40 in post-market trading on Monday, up from the company's New York Stock Exchange close of $99.49.

(Reporting by Anna Driver; Editing by Steve Orlofsky; and Peter Galloway)