UPDATE: Talisman Energy Posts Upbeat Q3 Earnings

Talisman Energy

reported a better-than-expected profit for the third quarter. The Calgary, Canada-based company posted quarterly earnings of $425 million, or $0.38 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $54 million, or $0.08 per share. Excluding certain items, the company earned $0.05 per share. Its total revenue and other income dropped around 8.7% to $1.14 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.02 per share on revenue of $1.4 billion. The company's cash flow declined 11.5% to $507 million, or $0.49 per share, in the quarter. The company's total production averaged 353,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), compared to 371,000 boepd, in the year-ago period. In North America, production averaged 165,000 boe/d, while production averaged 34,000 boe/d in the Eagle Ford. In the Marcellus, total production averaged 462 mmcf/d for the quarter. At September 30, 2014, net debt was around $4.3 billion, versus around $4.2 billion in the prior quarter. For the year, Talisman cut its capital spending budget to around $3 billion versus $3.2 billion. "Our third quarter results highlight our continued focus on improving the financial and operating reliability and performance of our business," said Hal Kvisle, President and CEO. Talisman shares fell 4.39% to close at $6.10 yesterday.