Oil producer Quicksilver’s shares jump after report of profitable 4th qtr, beating forecasts

Quicksilver reports profitable 4Q, shares climb

FORT WORTH, Texas — Natural gas and oil producer Quicksilver Resources Inc. posted a fourth-quarter profit of $32.5 million, or 19 cents per share, Monday as revenue grew, compared with a loss a year earlier, when it recorded several charges.

A year earlier, the company lost $467 million, or $2.79 per share.

The results, which beat Wall Street’s expectations, sent Quicksilver’s shares up 50 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $15.42. The stock has traded the past 52 weeks at $3.98 to $16.59.

Excluding one-time items, the company earned $47.3 million, or 27 cents per share, up from an adjusted profit of $39.3 million, or 23 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 12 percent to $234.1 million from $208.9 million.

Analysts, on average, were expecting a profit of 25 cents per share on sales of $217.4 million, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

For the full year, Quicksilver posted a loss of $557.5 million, or $3.30 per share, compared with a loss of $378.3 million, or $2.33 per share, a year earlier.

Adjusted earnings were 86 cents per share for 2009.

Revenue rose to $832.7 million from $800.6 million.