Independent natural gas producer Cabot Oil & Gas (CTRA 0.04%) reported earnings after the bell on Thursday that beat analyst estimates for its third quarter by $0.01 per share. It posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.18, which was better than analyst expectations of $0.17 per share.
Revenue of $435.9 million, which was up 47% year over year, was just slightly below Wall Street's predictions for revenue of $442.8 million as production jumped 61% from the year-ago period to 107.1 billion cubic feet equivalent. Even though Marcellus production was pressured by pricing issues leading to volumes being held back for a brief period of time at the end of the quarter, equivalent production still grew 13% sequentially.
With a capital spending program of between $1.375 to $1.475 billion, 30% to 50% of the budget will be spent on drilling and completion activities, with more than 75% of the drilling and completion capital focused on its Marcellus Shale operations. The mid-point of it guidance for 2014 unit costs of $2.65 per Mcfe implies more than a 10% decrease relative to the mid-point of 2013 unit cost guidance.
