Panhandle Oil and Gas 4Q Profits Drop 13 Percent

Tallahassee, FL 12/8/11 (StreetBeat) -- Panhandle Oil and Gas (NYSE: PHX) posted a 13 percent drop in fourth-quarter net income Thursday, citing falling natural gas prices.

The Oklahoma City energy company reported earnings of $2.64 million, or 31 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. That compares with $3.04 million, or 36 cents per share, for the same part of 2010. Revenue increased less than a percent to $12.4 million in the quarter.

The company increased production 5.2 percent in the quarter to 2.43 billion cubic feet of natural gas, but it sold natural gas for a lower price. Panhandle said it sold natural gas for an average of $4.07 per 1,000 cubic feet, down from $4.27 per 1,000 cubic feet in the prior-year period.

It also sold about 5 percent more oil in the quarter and at higher prices, but it wasn't enough to offset the drop in gas prices.

Panhandle President and CEO Michael Coffman said the company was focusing its efforts on developing new finds in western Oklahoma that contain larger amounts of oil and other petroleum liquids that are more profitable right now.

For the full year, Panhandle Oil and Gas Inc. reported earnings of $8.49 million, or $1.01 per share, compared with $11.4 million, or $1.36 per share, in the previous fiscal year. Annual revenue fell 13.4 percent to $45 million.

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