Baytex Energy Trust's quarterly profit dropped 70 percent as weaker commodity prices hurt the Canadian oil explorer.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, the trust posted a net income of C$40.7 million ($38.51 million), or 37 Canadian cents per unit, down from C$137.2 million, or C$1.39 per unit, last year.

Funds from operations fell to C$88.8 million, or 80 Canadian cents per unit, from C$146.6 million, or C$1.47 per unit, in the year-ago quarter. The trust, however, said funds from operations rose 2 percent sequentially.

Petroleum and natural gas sales was C$208.2 million, down 43 percent from the year-ago period.

Analysts on average expected earnings of 37 Canadian cents per unit, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The trust said it produced an average of 42,623 barrel of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) in the third quarter and expects to produce between 42,500 and 43,000 boe/d in the fourth quarter.

Units of Baytex Energy were down 5 Canadian cents at C$27.82 Tuesday morning on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

($1=1.057 Canadian dollar)

(Reporting by Ashutosh Joshi in Bangalore; Editing by Deepak Kannan)

Energy Canada