Stone Energy 1Q profit jumps as selling prices rise

LAFAYETTE, La.—Oil and natural gas producer Stone Energy Corp. said Tuesday its first-quarter profit rose sharply as commodity prices soared.

Net income for the first three months of 2008 rose to $62.2 million, or $2.22 per share, from $10.5 million, or 38 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Analysts predicted the company would earn $1.76 per share, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.

Revenue increased to $203.2 million from $173.3 million. Analysts forecast revenue of $190 million.

Daily production fell 21 percent to the equivalent of 185 million cubic feet of gas, largely because of the recent sale of properties in the Rocky Mountains and the Gulf of Mexico.

Average selling prices rose sharply, however, to $95.72 per barrel of oil and $8.82 per 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas. On a gas-equivalent basis, that is 49 percent higher than during the same time last year.

In the second quarter, Stone expects to produce the equivalent of 195 million to 210 million cubic feet of gas.

Stone Energy shares rose $2.39, or 3.8 percent, to close at $65.85.