Encana Corporation (ECA)

[eFinanceMarkets]

$ECA Encana (ECA +2.7%) enjoys strong gains after reporting a strong Q2 that included a US$331M net profit vs. a US$601M net loss in the year-ago quarter.

ECA says it now expects year-end 2017 production from its core operations in the Montney and Duvernay in western Canada and the Eagle Ford and Permian in the U.S. to finish 25%-30% above last year's end-of-year level, better than its previously estimated outlook for growth of 20% or better.

Q2 core asset production was 246.5K boe/day, up by 9.2K boe/day from the prior quarter; total Q2 output was 316K boe/day, with oil and liquids volumes accounting for ~40% of the total production mix vs. 35% during Q1.

Q2 non-GAAP corporate margin of $12.19/boe was up 25% Q/Q despite lower benchmark commodity prices.

ECA says it plans to leave its 2017 capital budget at $1.6B-$1.8B despite recent oil price volatility.