Enerplus reports $429.1M Q4 loss due to non-cash goodwill impairment charge

CALGARY – Enerplus Corp. reported a loss of $429.1 million in its latest quarter as it took a non-cash goodwill impairment charge related to its Canadian business.

The company says the loss amounted to $1.93 per diluted share for the quarter ended Dec. 31 compared with a profit of $249.3 million or $1.02 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Enerplus says the drop in earnings was due to a $451.1-million non-cash goodwill impairment charge as a result of Canadian asset sales, the shut-in of natural gas production in Tommy Lakes and lower forecasted commodity prices.

The results were also hurt by a $28.8-million loss on commodity derivative instruments in the fourth quarter of 2019 compared with a $253.7-million gain in the same period in 2018.

Excluding the goodwill impairment and certain other non-cash or non-recurring items, Enerplus says it earned an adjusted profit of $34.4 million in the quarter compared with $102.2 million in the same period a year earlier.

Total production in the quarter 107,436 barrels of oil equivalent per day, topping the company’s guidance range of 103,000 to 107,000 boepd and up from 97,860 boepd in the fourth quarter of 2018.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 21, 2020.

Companies in this story: (TSX:ERF)