I was going to dub independent oil and gas firm Apache's
Just as in 2005, Apache is today cashing on in lofty energy prices. Oil and gas revenue rose 60% over the prior year's second quarter, while cash generation set a new high-water mark well north of $2 billion. These huge numbers were entirely the result of higher price realizations, with production off a tad both sequentially and year over year.
I've unfairly knocked Apache in the past for limited disclosure in its quarterly press releases. It turns out that, unlike Southwestern Energy
Also encouraging was management's comment during the conference call that controllable costs actually saw a sequential decline. As we've seen with XTO Energy
I could admonish Apache for failing to deliver production growth this time around, but that would be kind of crazy. The firm delivered a 29% annualized return on capital employed, and a 35% return on equity. This management team continues to wisely allocate capital. Upcoming projects like the BHP Billiton-led
Apache's a popular one in Fooldom, sporting a five-star rating in Motley Fool CAPS. Others seem to agree that there's more to oil and gas than production growth. See what your fellow Fools have to say right here.
Related Foolishness:
- Last quarter told a similar tale.
- Apache's taking things even slower than this consistent grower.
- Is that you, Goldilocks?