ConocoPhillips 2Q profit soars

The Houston-based company said Wednesday net income rose to $5.44 billion, or $3.50 a share, for the April-June period, from $301 million, or 18 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. A year ago, ConocoPhillips incurred a $4.5 billion charge related to its former assets in Venezuela.

Second-quarter revenue increased to $71.4 billion from $47.4 billion a year ago.

On average, Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected earnings per share of $3.40.

ConocoPhillips shares fell $2.48, or 2.9 percent, to $81.83 Wednesday. They have traded in a range of $67.85 to $95.96 in the past year.

Brian Youngberg, an analyst with Edward Jones, said overall results were decent, but he noted production volumes again were below the prior-year period--a disturbing pattern for the past several quarters related to maturing fields, planned and unplanned maintenance and other factors.

Youngberg said the company might have to increase production by 5 percent to 7 percent in the final months of the year to meet full-year goals.

"After the third quarter, they're going to be enough behind their 2008 guidance that the fourth quarter better be good," he said. "They've said it would be better, and I think people will hold them to that."

ConocoPhillips, the third-largest U.S. oil company, is the first of the oil majors to report second-quarter earnings. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., among others, are scheduled to report results next week. Like ConocoPhillips, most are expected to post huge profits because of triple-digit oil prices.

ConocoPhillips' one-time charge in the year-ago quarter was linked to its refusal to sign deals last spring with the Venezuelan government to keep pumping oil under tougher terms posed by President Hugo Chavez's government.