Anadarko’s Profit Surpasses Estimates on Higher Sales

Anadarko Petroleum Corp., the second-largest U.S. independent oil and natural-gas producer by market value, reported first-quarter profit that exceeded analysts’ estimates as it posted record sales volumes.

Excluding such items as hedging losses, profit in the quarter was 72 cents a share, 14 cents higher than the average of 29 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Net income fell 70 percent to $216 million, or 43 cents a share, from $716 million, or $1.43, a year earlier, when energy futures contracts boosted earnings, The Woodlands, Texas-based company said today in a statement.