McMoran Shares Dip on Q1 Loss
(McMoRan story updated for midday losses)
NEW ORLEANS (
) --
McMoRan Exploration
(MMR)
is down on Monday by a double-digit percentage decline in share price after reporting a larger-than-expected loss in the first quarter. McMoRan's first quarter performance was an improvement over the first quarter 2009, but it was well short of analyst expectations.
McMoRan's stock price had surged this year, from $8 to a high near $19. Last Friday, McMoRran shares closed at $15.36. On Monday morning, McMoRan shares were down by close to 11%, or a loss near $2, in the morning session.
The midday share price in McMoRan shares was $13.55, a level below which McMoRan shares have not closed since its January announcement of a big find in the Gulf of Mexico. At the time of that announcement, McMoRan shares had been trading at $9 -- the shares immediately spiked to $14 when the Davy Jones discovery was announced, and had not closed below $14 since January 19.
McMoRan trading volume on Monday was at nearly twice its average daily volume of 2 million shares by the midday mark.
On Monday morning in the pre-market, McMoRan reported a loss of $53.4 million, or 74 cents a share in the first quarter 2010, versus a loss of $60.6 million, or 90 cents a share in the same quarter 2009.
Analysts expected a loss of 9 cents.
McMoRan's revenue rose to $132.5 million from $97.4 million, as average natural-gas prices increased 14%, and oil soared 87%.
McMoRan shares had soared in January when the oil and gas exploration company announced new discoveries in its Davy Jones area in the Gulf of Mexico.
McMoRan is taking natural gas production down from a level of 190 million cubic feet daily in the first quarter to 170 million cubic feet daily in Q2 2010.
McMoRan reaffirmed its spending guidance of $240 million for 2010.
-- Reported by Eric Rosenbaum in New York.
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