By Rob Curran

Conoco Phillips said fourth-quarter net income declined alongside energy prices but the oil giant forecast production growth in 2025 while signaling a more aggressive dividend and share-buyback campaign following the recent closure of its multibillion-dollar Marathon Oil acquisition.

The Houston oil giant posted earnings of $2.31 billion, or $1.90 a share, down from $3 billion, or $2.52 a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, excluding the impact of one-off items tied to the Marathon Oil purchase, ConocoPhillips earned $1.98 a share, eclipsing the average Wall Street expectation of $1.83 a share, as tallied by FactSet.

Conoco said cash provided by operating activities amounted to $20.1 billion.

In May, Conoco agreed to buy rival oil explorer Marathon Oil in an all-stock deal valued at $17.1 billion in a bid to catch up with rivals as drillers race to secure increasingly scarce new prospects. The acquisition closed during the latest quarter.

For both the first quarter and year as a whole, Conoco projected production of 2.34 million to 2.38 million of barrels of oil equivalent a day, compared with 1.987 million BOE a day in 2024.

Conoco forecast capital expenditure of about $12.9 billion for 2025.

The company said it returned $9.1 billion to shareholders in 2024 and anticipates returning more than $10 billion this year.

Its year-end proved reserves were estimated at 7.8 billion BOE, Conoco said.

Conoco declared a quarterly dividend of 78 cents a share, payable on March 3 to shareholders of record on Feb. 17.

Conoco's larger rivals Exxon Mobil and Chevron disappointed investors with conservative growth forecasts, moderating anticipation for a bonanza in the second Trump administration.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 06, 2025 07:39 ET (12:39 GMT)

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