Coterra misses quarterly profit estimates, flags winter storm hit to Q1 output

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Coterra Energy CTRA.N on Thursday missed Wall Street expectations for fourth-quarter profit on weaker crude prices, and warned of a hit to its first-quarter output due to the winter storm in the U.S.

Global crude prices have come under pressure amid rising concerns about oversupply, with Venezuela expected to add more barrels.

The company said the average price of oil was $58.16 per barrel during the quarter, compared with $68.57 per barrel a year earlier.

It produced 813,100 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up from 681,500 boepd a year earlier.

The company also forecast 2026 total overall production between 750,000 and 810,000 boepd, including the impact of the winter storm in the first quarter.

"We anticipate that, including the impact of winter storm Fern, the first quarter will be below the annual average daily production," Coterra said.

Shares of the company fell 1.4% to $29.59 after the bell.

The winter storm curtailed as much as 2 million barrels per day of U.S. oil production, roughly 15% of the national total output, according to analysts and traders' estimates, which impacted companies like Coterra.

The company expects full-year capital expenditure to be in the range of $2.18 billion to $2.33 billion.

Earlier this month, Coterra Energy and rival Devon DVN.N announced a $58 billion merger, aimed at bolstering scale and cost efficiency as oil prices weaken.

The merger is expected to close in the second quarter and the companies are targeting $1 billion in annual pre-tax savings by 2027.

Coterra posted an adjusted profit of 39 cents per share for the three months ended December 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of 48 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.