Devon Energy Sheds Canadian Assets for $2.8B, Turns 4Q Profit

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) turned a profit in the fourth quarter, as higher production and selling prices lifted the company.

Devon reported net income of $207 million, or 51 cents a share, versus a loss of $357 million, or 89 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier. The year-ago period included an $896 million asset write-down.

Adjusted earnings, which exclude asset charges and other one-time items, rose to $1.10 a share from 78 cents. Revenue ticked 1.7% higher to $2.62 billion.

Wall Street analysts projected an adjusted profit of $1.08 a share and revenue of $2.69 billion.

Average daily production climbed 2.6% during the quarter. Average realized prices before hedging impacts were up 9% for oil and 1% for natural gas.

Also on Wednesday, Devon unveiled a deal to sell most of its conventional assets in Canada to Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) for $3.125 billion Canadian dollars, or $2.8 billion. The company said it expects to divest its remaining non-core assets in the U.S. by the end of this year.

Oklahoma City-based Devon, which helped pioneer drilling for natural gas, is in the process of turning itself into a bigger player in the oil industry.

The company recently agreed to pay closely held GeoSouthern Energy $6 billion for assets at the Eagle Ford shale formation in Texas. It also plans to combine its U.S. midstream assets with Crosstex Energy (NASDAQ:XTXI) to form a publicly traded master limited partnership.

Devon was trading 2.3% higher at $64.34 on Wednesday morning. U.S. shares of Canadian Natural Resources jumped 3.2% to $36.91.