Talisman Energy Posts $1 Bln Loss In Q4 On Hefty Charges, To Sell More Assets

(RTTNews) - Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM.TO, TLM) Wednesday reported a hefty loss for the fourth quarter, weighed down by asset and goodwill impairments. Separately, the Canadian oil and natural gas producer said it would begin a second phase of non-core asset sales to dispose of further $2 billion of assets.

Net loss for the quarter was $1.01 billion or $0.98 per share, compared to net income of $376 million or $0.31 per share in the year ago quarter. The prior year results have been restated.

Asset and goodwill impairments totaled $826 million in the quarter, including a $277 million impairment in the TSEUK joint venture and a net impairment expense of $79 million in Norway.

Loss from operations per share, a non-GAAP measure, widened to $0.11 from $0.10 in the year ago quarter. On average, 9 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report a loss of $0.01 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Total revenue and other income declined to $929 million from last year's $1.663 billion. Analysts estimated revenues of $1.46 billion for the quarter.

Fourth-quarter production was 387,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day or boe/d, down from 392,000 boe/d in the year-ago period.

Cash flow for the quarter was $580 million compared to $675 million last year, amid widening of Western Canada Select differentials in Canada, unexpected operational issues in the UK that resulted in the Piper and Claymore facilities being shut in for most of the quarter.

Separately, Talisman Energy announced its capital spending program and expected operating results for 2014.

Capital expenditure for 2014 is expected to be about $3.2 billion, unchanged from 2013, but a decrease of around 20 percent from 2012. More than 70 percent of expected capital spending in 2014 will be invested in the Americas and Asia-Pacific.

Additionally, Talisman said it would begin a second phase of non-core asset sales. The firm plans to dispose of further $2 billion of assets that demand substantial capital investment to generate long-dated cash flows.

Even as overall production base will be lower due to non-core asset sales, the two core regions - the Americas and Asia-Pacific - are expected to deliver a 14 to19 percent increase in liquids volumes in 2014 with majority of growth coming from North America and Colombia.

Hal Kvisle, president and CEO, said, ''In 2014, we expect more improvements in performance, with continued growth in high-margin liquids production generating increased cash flow."

Production from ongoing operations is expected to grow from 345,000 boe/d to a range of 350,000 boe/d to 365,000 boe/d, reflecting growth of between 2 to 6 percent on an annual basis. Talisman's two core regions are expected to contribute over 90 percent of the company's production in 2014.

TLM closed up 0.6 percent on Tuesday at $10.61. TLM.TO settled at $11.68.