Encana Corp Delivers a Blowout Quarter in More Ways Than One

Heading into the second quarter, analysts expected that Encana (NYSE: ECA) would turn a marginal profit, with the consensus being that it would earn $0.04 per share. However, thanks to excellent production results and expanding margins, the company blasted past those expectations, reporting net earnings of $331 million, or $0.34 per share. As a result, the company is not only well ahead of its five-year plan, but its remarkable progress makes it much more likely that it can achieve those ambitious goals.

Production out of Encana's core assets averaged 246,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/d) during the second quarter, which was up 9,200 BOE/d from the first quarter. More importantly, higher-margin liquids production, which includes oil, natural gas liquids, and condensate, jumped 14% to 124,900 barrels per day. That higher-margin growth pushed the company's corporate margin up to $12.10 per BOE during the quarter, which is an increase of 25% from the prior quarter despite lower commodity prices.

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Source: Fool.com