McMoRan posts loss as failed well tests add to costs
Jan 18 (Reuters) - McMoRan Exploration Co reported its fourth straight quarterly loss on higher costs resulting from repeated failures to launch a key gas well, a delay that has prompted bidder Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc to lower its offer.
Freeport-McMoRan reduced its takeover offer by 5 percent to $14.75 per share on Dec. 28 after McMoRan failed to unclog the Davy Jones No.1 well in the Gulf of Mexico.
McMoRan reported net loss of $1.2 million, or 1 cent per share, in the fourth quarter, compared with a profit of $28.4 million, or 16 cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenue fell 31 percent to $84.2 million.
Jan 18- McMoRan Exploration Co reported its fourth straight quarterly loss on higher costs resulting from repeated failures to launch a key gas well, a delay that has prompted bidder Freeport-McMoRan Copper& Gold Inc to lower its offer.