By Rob Curran

Murphy Oil's fourth-quarter net income slid as production and oil prices fell, but the energy company raised its dividend and projected output stabilizing around current levels this year.

The Houston exploration-and-production company, which traces its roots back more than 100 years, posted earnings of $50.3 million, or 34 cents a share, down from $116.3 million, or 75 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding discontinued operations and certain one-time items, Murphy Oil posted adjusted earnings of 35 cents a share. That was well shy of the average analyst target of 61 cents a share.

Fourth-quarter revenue fell 21% to $671 million, also short of the mean analyst target of $748 million.

Production in the fourth quarter averaged 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down 28% from the same period a year earlier. The latest tally included 85,000 barrels of oil per day. Murphy's average realized price for U.S. onshore oil was $70.44 a barrel, down from $78.81 a barrel a year earlier.

Earlier in January, Murphy said it struck oil at the Hai Su Vang-1X exploration well, where it is the operator and has a 40% working interest.

For the first quarter, the company is targeting production of 159,000 to 167,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

For 2025, Murphy targeted capital expenditure in a range between $1.135 billion and $1.285 million, earmarking $410 million for offshore exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico, $20 million for Canadian offshore operations and $115 million in Vietnam and other offshore projects.

For the full year, Murphy expects to produce between 174,500 and 182,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with about 51% of that being oil.

Murphy also raised its quarterly dividend to 32.5 cents a share from 30 cents, payable March 3 to shareholders of record on Feb. 18.

Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 30, 2025 06:31 ET (11:31 GMT)

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