ConocoPhillips & Kellogg Company Fall ON Earnings (NYSE:COP, K)

ConocoPhillips & Kellogg Company Fall ON Earnings (NYSE:COP, K)

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) shares slid about 2% in the pre-market session as the company posted a lower than estimated first quarter earnings due to lower production and weaker refining margins.

The company posted profit of $2.94 billion, or $2.27 a share, down from a year ago profit of $3.03 billion, or $2.09 a share. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $2.02 a share, missing analysts’ estimates by 6 cents.

Sales and other operating revenue slid 0.7% to $56.1 billion, above analysts’ estimates of $53.6 billion.

Production fell to 1.64 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, down by 65,000 barrels per day, just above the analysts’ estimates of production of 1.59 million barrels a day.

The exploration and production arm’s adjusted operating earnings were down 3% as reduced volume and lower natural-gas prices were partly offset by higher prices for crude and liquefied natural gas.

For 2012, ConocoPhillips expects production of 1.55 to 1.6 million barrels of oil equivalent a day. The company remains on track to spin off its Phillips 66 refining and gas station unit.

Kellogg Company (NYSE:K) shares are falling in the pre-market session as the company revised its full-year earnings downwardly after a weaker-than-expected first-quarter performance.

The company now projects 2012 full-year net sales to increase by 2% to 3%, while operating profit is seen growing 2% to 4%. For the full year, the company expects reported earnings of $3.18 to $3.30 a share. Analysts had a $3.48 a share estimate for full -year 2012 results.

Kellogg said first-quarter net sales dropped 1.3%, and operating profit fell 6.5%. The company’s first-quarter earnings were $1 a share, including a gain of 5 cents a share from hedges related to its pending acquisition of Pringles. Analysts were expecting earnings of 99 cents a share.

“We are obviously disappointed with the performance of the company in the first quarter of 2012,” Kellogg Chief Executive John Bryant said in a statement. “We faced more significant challenges in both Europe and in some categories in the U.S. than we expected.”

Shares of Kellogg are down 6.08% to $50.71 in the pre-market session.