Ultra Petroleum Q4 Profit Up - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Ultra Petroleum Corp. (UPL) reported that its fourth quarter of 2014 net income surged to $209.73 million from $41.12 million last year. Earnings per share jumped to $1.36 from $0.27 in the prior year. The latest-quarter results included unrealized gain of $103.45 million on commodity derivatives.

Adjusted earnings per share increased to $0.62 from $0.44 in the previous year.

Total operating revenues for the quarter grew to $319.05 million from $225.20 million in the prior year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.51 per share and revenues of $317.23 million for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The board of directors approved Ultra's 2015 capital investment program of $460.0 million for the year. This compares to $1.5 billion in 2014, where $600.0 million was operations and $900.0 million was for the Pinedale acquisition.

Ultra's 2015 annual production is expected to range between 275 - 285 Bcfe. Based on mid-point of guidance, the company expects annual production to grow approximately 12 percent with consistent stable quarterly production.