The Successful Investor Hotline – Friday, October 22, 2010

Article Excerpt

ENCANA CORP., $28.26, Toronto symbol ECA, fell 7% this week after the company reported lower-than-expected earnings. In the three months ended September 30, 2010, Encana earned $98 million, or $0.13 a share (all amounts except share price in U.S. dollars). These figures exclude a $331-million gain on hedging contracts that the company uses to lock in selling prices for its natural gas, and a $140-million foreign-exchange gain. On this basis, the latest earnings fell well short of the consensus estimate of $0.19 a share. They were also down 74.1% from the company’s year-earlier earnings of $378 million, or $0.50 a share. Cash flow per share fell 9.4%, to $1.54 from $1.70. (Note: The year-earlier figures assume that the breakup of the old EnCana Corp. into the new Encana and Cenovus Energy Inc. took place at the start of 2009 instead of December 1, 2009.) Depressed natural gas prices were the main reason for the lower earnings and cash flow. (Natural…