CALGARY – PrairieSky Royalty Ltd. says strong crude oil prices and volumes in the second quarter allowed it to beat analyst profit expectations despite falling prices and lower production of natural gas.
The results offer an early indication of what energy investors can expect as PrairieSky, spun out by Encana Corp. in 2014, is the first publicly-traded oil and gas firm to report on the three months ended June 30.
Other companies reporting this week include Suncor Energy Inc., Husky Energy Inc., Cenovus Energy Inc., Imperial Oil Ltd. and Precision Drilling Corp.
Calgary-based PrairieSky generates revenue by collecting a percentage of production from the oil and gas producers who lease its lands.
It is reporting $76.2 million in revenue for the second quarter, compared with $102.2 million in the same period a year ago.
Net earnings were $25.1 million, beating analyst expectations by about 18 per cent, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.
Production averaged just under 23,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down 11 per cent from the same period last year, as oil output fell about five per cent and both natural gas and natural gas liquids output were down about 14 per cent.
It said its realized price for oil was C$68.92 per barrel, up from C$52.98 a year earlier, while its natural gas price averaged 83 cents per thousand cubic feet, down from $2.15 in the same period of 2017.
Companies mentioned in this story: (TSX:PSK, TSX:SU, TSX:IMO, TSX:HSE, TSX:CVE, TSX:PD)