By Pooja Menon and Sheila Dang
Nov 5 (Reuters) - ConocoPhillips lifted its quarterly dividend after beating Wall Street estimates for third-quarter adjusted profit on Thursday, helped by stronger crude prices and cost-cutting measures that offset a decline in output.
The Houston-based company posted adjusted profit of $3.27 per share for the three months ended September 30, surpassing the average analyst estimate of $2.97 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Quarterly net income more than
doubled to $4 billion year-on-year, boosted by higher oil prices amid supply concerns driven by the Middle East conflict.
The company said it remained on track to grow free cash flow by $7 billion in 2029 when compared to 2025 levels. New CEO Andy O'Brien, who took the helm in September, said investors should expect free cash flow to keep growing beyond 2029 as the company is set to start producing oil at its Willow project in Alaska and grow cost efficiencies in US shale.
"It's probably the question I've been asked the most since becoming CEO. What happens after the inflection?" he said during an earnings call with analysts. "Those opportunities can support growth through the next decade."
The company's average realized price was $61.40 per barrel of oil equivalent for the quarter, 32% higher than a year earlier.
Benchmark Brent crude averaged about $89.27 per barrel during the July-to-September period, up more than 31% from a year earlier, as the Iran war restricted energy supplies.
PRODUCTION OUTLOOK AND PROJECT UPDATES
Quarterly production was 2.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), compared with 2.4 million boepd a year earlier.
ConocoPhillips forecast fourth-quarter production between 2.32 million boepd and 2.36 million boepd.
Production in the lower 48 US states is expected to rise sequentially in the fourth quarter, while turnaround-related production impacts are expected to remain flat compared with the third quarter, the company said.
It raised its quarterly dividend by nearly 11% to 93 cents per share from 84 cents previously.
The company also said it was evaluating a potential sale of its Norway business and the Teesside asset in the UK after receiving an unsolicited offer, although it did not identify the bidder or disclose financial details.
O'Brien said no decision had been made on a potential sale of the Norway assets.
Production from Qatar rose in the third quarter, but remains below pre-Iran war levels, the company said.
Drilling operations at the Willow project could begin as soon as early next year to progress toward first oil in 2029, executives added.
(Reporting by Pooja Menon in Bengaluru and Sheila Dang in Houston; Editing by Joyjeet Das and David Gregorio)
