ConocoPhillips 1Q earnings short of expectations

NEW YORK -- ConocoPhillips' first-quarter earnings rose 43 percent because of a jump in oil prices, but the results weren't as strong as Wall Street had expected.
The Houston oil company said Wednesday that its production and refining businesses suffered from a variety of disruptions during the quarter, including the uprising in Libya.
Conoco reported net income of $3 billion, or $2.09 per share, in the first three months of the year, up from $2.1 billion, or $1.40 per share, a year earlier. Revenue increased 27 percent to $58.25 billion.
Excluding gains from the sale of shares in Russian oil company Lukoil and other assets, the company earned $2.6 billion, or $1.82 per share.
The adjusted earnings fell short of Wall Street expectations. Analysts, who typically exclude one-time items, expected the company to earn $1.93 per share, according to FactSet. Revenue did top expectations.
Shares fell $2.47, or 3 percent, to $78.74 in morning trading.
Profit increased as prices for oil and natural gas liquids increased 27 percent in the quarter to $91.55 per barrel. Natural gas prices fell, however, by 6 percent to $5.22 per 1,000 cubic feet.
CEO Jim Mulva said oil production dropped in the January-March quarter by 8 percent to 1.7 million barrels per day as Conoco dealt with a series of unexpected shutdowns.
A leak in the trans-Alaska pipeline stalled oil shipments in January. A supply vessel collided with the company's Britannia platform in the North Sea. Also, Conoco is part-owner of oil fields in Libya's Sirte Basin. As the uprising there escalated, Conoco closed offices in the country and evacuated staff.
Altogether, the unplanned shutdowns cut profits by about $100 million.
Conoco, the third-largest U.S. oil company, has been aggressively shedding assets as it focuses more on developing oil sands in Canada and underground shale deposits in North America. During the quarter, Conoco finished selling off its shares of Russian oil giant Lukoil. Conoco also repurchased 21 million shares for $1.6 billion and raised its quarterly dividend by 20 percent to 66 cents. Shares rose more than 17 percent in the quarter.
Despite the drop in production, exploration and production profits increased 28 percent to $2.35 billion for the quarter. The refining and marketing business reported a profit of $482 million after posting a $4 million loss in the same period last year. The refining business benefited from higher fuel prices and profit margins, though lower refining activity along the Gulf coast pushed total refining activity down to 87 percent in the quarter in the U.S., compared with 88 percent in the same period last year. Mulva said the drop cost Conoco about $50 million in profit in the quarter.