Unit Corp. shares rise on 3Q profit report

TULSA, Okla. - Shares of oil and gas exploration company Unit Corp. rose Tuesday after the company said its third-quarter profit rose 44 percent as natural gas production boomed to record-high levels.

Shares rose $1.19, or 3.4 percent, to close at $36.63.

The company on Tuesday morning reported profit of $92.3 million, or $1.96 per share for the July-September quarter, compared with $64.1 million, or $1.37 per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue grew 31 percent to $375.6 million from $286.3 million in the quarter a year ago.

The results beat the average expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who estimated earnings of $1.94 per share on sales of $374.5 million.

Larry Pinkston, the company's chief executive, said in a statement that the worldwide economic slowdown, and the corresponding decline in energy prices "have caused us and others in our industry to reassess drilling activity and spending." Next year, he said, "our objective will be to fund our capital expenditures, excluding acquisitions, within or below anticipated cash flow."

As the pace of industry has slowed and businesses consume less, the price of oil has fallen $30 from just over a month ago.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose $6.62 on Tuesday to settle at $70.53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after rising as high as $71.77.

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