ConocoPhillips posts profit on asset sale gain

• ConocoPhillips reported a profit, compared with a year-earlier loss.
• The results were helped by a gain on its sale of oil sands and western Canadian natural gas assets to Cenovus Energy.

ConocoPhillips reported a quarterly profit on Tuesday, compared with a year-earlier loss, helped by a gain on its sale of oil sands and western Canadian natural gas assets to Cenovus Energy.

ConocoPhillips's results also reflected a slow but steady improvement across the industry as crude prices stabilize after a two-year rout, as an OPEC-led production cut and a rebound in demand slowly erode a global glut.

The company said its total realized price was $36.18 per barrel of oil equivalent in the first quarter, compared with $22.94, a year earlier.

The Houston-based company's production and operating costs fell by 4 percent in the quarter.

ConocoPhillips' production, excluding Libya, inched up 2 percent to 1.584 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in the latest reported quarter.

The company forecast production of 1.495 million to 1.535 million boepd for the second quarter.

ConocoPhillips said its forecast excludes output from Libya, but does not reflect the impact of recently announced asset sales. The company's net profit was $800 million, or 62 cents per share, in

The company's net profit was $800 million, or 62 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, compared with a net loss of $1.5 billion, or $1.18 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding a gain on the sale of assets in Canada, loss was 2 cents per share.

CORRECTION: This story was updated to show that ConocoPhillips forecast production of 1.495 million to 1.535 million boepd for the second quarter.