(Reuters) – Coterra Energy beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Monday and announced a 5% dividend increase, as the oil and gas company benefited from higher oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs) production.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that oil production in the country rose to a record high in the previous quarter as drilling efficiencies helped producers pump more.
The Houston-based company reported a rise in fourth-quarter production to 681,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), exceeding the high end of its outlook of 630,000 to 660,000 boepd, driven by improved cycle times and strong well performance.
While the company’s output mix had more oil and NGLs compared to the year-ago quarter, overall it was less than the 697,400 boepd produced in that quarter.
Coterra also forecast total overall production for 2025 to be between 710,000 and 770,000 boepd, with a higher oil mix, while natural gas production is expected to be relatively flat year over year at the midpoint.
Betting on organic growth in its legacy assets and in the Permian, Coterra expects an average oil growth of 5% or greater from 2025 through 2027, and anticipates average annual capital ranging between $2.1 billion and $2.4 billion, which includes proforma combined growth in 2026 and 2027.
In November last year, Coterra acquired certain assets of Avant Natural Resources and Franklin Mountain Energy for a combined $3.95 billion to expand its operations in the Delaware Basin.
The transaction closed in January, and the company expects capital expenditure to be around 28% higher year over year from the $1.76 billion spent in 2024.
It also expects drilling and completion in the Marcellus Basin capital expenditures to be $50 million higher than expected in November last year as it restarts activity in the basin early in the second quarter, and could also increase by $50 million in the second half of the year.
The company’s adjusted profit was 49 cents per share for the three months ended December 31, compared with the analysts’ average estimate of 43 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
(Reporting by Seher Dareen and Pooja Menon in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
