Chesapeake Energy shares fall on 4Q loss

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Shares of Chesapeake Energy Corp. fell Wednesday after the oil and natural gas company reported a fourth-quarter loss, hurt by one-time charges.

The company's adjusted earnings came in lower than Wall Street expected. In morning trading, shares fell $2.05, or 7.6 percent, to $24.89.

Chesapeake, which is based in Oklahoma City, is reviewing its portfolio of assets to see if they still fit the company's strategy. Chesapeake wants to focus on discovering and developing natural gas and oil assets onshore in the U.S. On Monday, it said that it is considering selling or spinning off its oilfield services unit Chesapeake Outfield Operating LLC.

During the three months that ended Dec. 31, the company reported a loss of $159 million, or 24 cents per share, compared with net income of $250 million, or 39 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

Adjusted to remove one-time charges, the company would have earned 27 cents per share. That's below the 40 cents per share analysts expected, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 28 percent to $4.54 billion from $3.54 billion, above the $4.41 billion analysts expected.

The one-time, charges included an impairment charge of $126 million on certain property and equipment, $76 million to end a lease in Texas and $28 million for job cutting and restructuring costs.

The company said production during the quarter rose 2 percent from the year before, but was down 1 percent from the previous quarter due to bad weather.

For 2013, the company reported net income of $474 million, or 73 cents per share, compared with a loss of $940 million, or $1.46 per share, in 2012. Its adjusted earnings were $1.50 per share. Revenue rose 42 percent to $17.51 billion from $12.32 billion during the same period. Analysts expected earnings of $1.64 per share and revenue of $16.83 billion.