Devon Energy 3Q profit more than triples

OKLAHOMA CITY - Devon Energy Corp. said Wednesday third-quarter earnings more than tripled as gas and oil sales rose and the company booked profit from financial investments.

Net income rose to $2.6 billion, or $5.87 per share, from $735 million, or $1.63 per share, in the year-ago period.

The latest profit figure included $1.2 billion from an unrealized gain on oil and natural gas derivatives.

Excluding items such as that, earnings rose to $1.4 billion, or $3.09 per share. That compares with the $3.06 per share expected by analysts in a Thomson Reuters survey.

A 62 percent rise in oil and natural gas sales pushed revenue to $5.98 billion from $2.76 billion. The result exceeded the $4.02 billion anticipated on Wall Street.

Production output rose even though the company's offshore oil and gas properties were largely shut down in September after two hurricanes barreled through the Gulf of Mexico.

Devon shares slipped 67 cents to $82.33 in morning trading.

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