Petroleum & Resources Corporation Declares Dividend and Announces First Quarter Performance

BALTIMORE, April 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of Petroleum & Resources Corporation (NYSE: PEO) today declared an interim dividend of $0.10 per share, payable June 1, 2012, to stockholders of record May 14, 2012, and announced the Fund's performance for the first quarter.

First Quarter Performance

For the three months ended March 31st, the total return on Petroleum & Resources' net asset value, with dividends and capital gains reinvested, was 5.0%. Comparable figures were 4.8% for the Dow Jones U.S. Oil and Gas Index, 10.0% for the Dow Jones U.S. Basic Materials Index, and 6.6% for the Lipper Global Natural Resources Funds Index (Lipper Peer Group). The total return on Petroleum & Resources' market value was 6.6%. The net capital gain realized by Petroleum & Resources on its investments for the three months was $0.57 per share.

For the twelve months ended March 31st, the total return on Petroleum & Resources' net asset value, with dividends and capital gains reinvested, was -7.5%. Comparable figures were -6.9% for the Dow Jones U.S. Oil and Gas Index, -11.5% for the Dow Jones U.S. Basic Materials Index, and -19.8% for the Lipper Peer Group. The total return on Petroleum & Resources' market value was -8.4%.

Petroleum & Resources' net asset value at March 31, 2012, is compared with the year earlier in the following table:

Net Asset Value

                                                   

Securities Transactions

During the first quarter, the Corporation added three new names to its portfolio with the purchases of shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (chemicals), Transocean Ltd., and receipt of shares in WPX Energy, Inc. (exploration and production) via a spin-off from Williams Companies. The Corporation added to its existing holdings in CF Industries, Marathon Oil, Marathon Petroleum, and Occidental Petroleum. One position was eliminated from the Corporation's portfolio with the sale of its shares of CONSOL Energy Inc. Holdings were reduced in Apache, Baker Hughes, Chevron, Energen, Freeport-McMoRan, Hess, MDU Resources, National Fuel Gas, Noble Energy, Northeast Utilities, Peabody Energy, Pioneer Natural Resources, Potash Corporation, QEP Resources, Royal Dutch Shell, Southwestern Energy, and Williams Companies.

The First Quarter Report to Stockholders is expected to be released on or about April 20, 2012.

Petroleum & Resources Corporation is a Baltimore-based closed-end investment company.  It is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PEO.

For further information, please contact

Lawrence L. Hooper, Jr.,
Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
410-752-5900 or 800-638-2479
E. Mail: [email protected] 
Website: www.peteres.com

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SOURCE Petroleum & Resources Corporation