Post-Earnings Research - Ecopetrol

LONDON, March 31, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Editor Note: For more information about this release, please scroll to bottom.

Investor-Edge.com has issued free post-earnings research on Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE: EC). On March 02, 2015, the company reported its financial results for Q4 FY14 and full year FY14 (period ended December 31, 2014). Click on http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Ecopetrol&d=31-Mar-2015&s=EC to read our free earnings review on Ecopetrol S.A. (Ecopetrol). The company's consolidated total sales came in at COP$14.82 trillion for Q4 FY14 and COP$68.92 trillion for FY14. Our free coverage report can be accessed at:

http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Ecopetrol&d=31-Mar-2015&s=EC

Earnings Overview 

During Q4 FY14, Ecopetrol's consolidated total sales fell 17.5% Y-o-Y from COP$17.96 trillion in Q4 FY13. The company's Q4 FY14 consolidated total sales outperformed Bloomberg analysts' forecast of COP$14.06 trillion. Further, in the reported quarter, Ecopetrol's consolidated operating profit declined 73.2% to COP$1.13 trillion from COP$4.21 trillion in Q4 FY13. Free research on EC can be downloaded in PDF format at:

http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Ecopetrol&d=31-Mar-2015&s=EC

For Q4 FY14, the company's consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and EBITDA margin came in at COP$2.44 trillion and 16%, respectively, compared to consolidated EBITDA and EBITDA margin of COP$4.90 trillion and 27%, respectively, in Q4 FY13. Ecopetrol reported consolidated net loss of COP$844.0 billion in Q4 FY14 compared to consolidated net income of COP$2.43 trillion in Q4 FY13. Analysts from Bloomberg had expected consolidated net income of COP$1.47 trillion in Q4 FY14. Further, consolidated cash provided by operating activities was COP$4.91 trillion in Q4 FY14, compared to COP$3.85 trillion, in Q4 FY13.

In Q4 FY14, Ecopetrol group production was 765.1 million barrels oil equivalent per day (mboed), comprising 629.0 mboed of Crude Oil production and 136.1 mboed of Natural Gas production.

For FY14, Ecopetrol's consolidated total sales fell by 2.1% Y-o-Y from COP$70.43 trillion in FY13. The company's FY14 consolidated total sales missed Bloomberg analysts' forecast of COP$74.25 trillion. Moreover, Ecopetrol's FY14 consolidated operating profit declined 24.0% to COP$16.60 trillion from COP$21.83 trillion in FY13.

Ecopetrol's consolidated EBITDA and EBITDA margin for FY14 were COP$22.38 trillion and 32%, respectively, compared to consolidated EBITDA and EBITDA margin of COP$28.01 trillion and 40%, respectively, in FY13. The company reported consolidated net income of COP$7.51 trillion in FY14, compared to COP$13.11 trillion in FY13. Analysts from Bloomberg had expected consolidated net income of COP$11.65 trillion in FY14. Additionally, consolidated cash provided by operating activities was COP$17.51 trillion in FY14, compared to COP$17.52 trillion in FY13. Sign up and read the free analyst's notes on EC at:

http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Ecopetrol&d=31-Mar-2015&s=EC

During FY14, Ecopetrol group's production fell 4.2% to 755.4 mboed from 788.2 mboed in FY13. The average crude oil production declined 4.9% to 619.5 mboed in FY14 from 651.1 mboed in FY13. Ecopetrol group's natural gas production fell 0.9% to 135.9 mboed in FY14 from 137.1 mboed in FY13. Further, the reserve replacement ratio was 146% in FY14, compared to 139% reported in FY13.

As of December 31, 2014, net proven reserves of crude oil, condensate and natural gas (Ecopetrol including its interest in affiliates and subsidiaries) amounted to 2,084 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), up 5.7% from 1,972 mmboe in FY13.

CEO of Ecopetrol, Javier Gutierrez, stated that in FY14, the company obtained important achievements, such as the discoveries in offshore exploratory blocks; the strengthening of the transportation segment, which continues the optimizations needed to achieve competitive margins at the level of the best in the industry; and the generation of positive EBITDA in the refining segment as the company enters the final phase of the Cartagena Refinery project. He also informed that in December, the company announced its investment plan for 2015 of US$7.86 billion, in accordance with the current price situation and in line with the strategy of value generation and emphasis on production. Visit Investor-Edge and access the latest research on EC at:

http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Ecopetrol&d=31-Mar-2015&s=EC

Stock Performance 

On the day following the earnings release, March 03, 2015, Ecopetrol's stock plummeted 6.10% to end the session at $14.78. Since then, the stock has moved both ways with gains outperforming losses. On the last close, Monday, March 30, 2015, the company's shares finished 0.13% higher at $15.42, after vacillating between $15.13 and $15.58. A total of 0.47 million shares were traded which was below their three months average volume of 1.09 million shares. Over the previous three trading sessions and over the last one month, the company's shares have fallen by 0.45% and 7.78%, respectively. Further, the stock has lost 9.24% in the past three months. Shares in Ecopetrol are trading below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $16.31 and $25.76, respectively. Moreover, the stock has a Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 49.02.    

Sneak Peek to Corporate Insider Trading 

In the last one month, Ecopetrol has not reported any share transactions by insiders to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Complimentary in-depth research on EC is available at:

http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Ecopetrol&d=31-Mar-2015&s=EC

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