Nexen Q1 Profit Drops 15%

Nexen Inc

reported a 15% drop in its first-quarter profit. Nexen's quarterly earnings fell to C$171 million ($173.00 million), or 32 cents a share, versus C$202 million, or 38 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Its net sales climbed 3% to around C$1.69 billion. Nexen's cash flow from operations came in at C$670 million, or C$1.27 a share, versus C$671 million, or C$1.27 a share. Its quarterly total production before royalties declined 12% to 202,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day. Nexen shares closed at $19.22 yesterday.