need a progress ann, page-24

No news from SSN is not helping but I think it is not just SSN - CHK is leading in the problem and the fall out may be SSN.

Expect more drops form the DOW. Watch second and third quarter for the DOW bubble to be back around 11500.

The support will be on SSN to produce within this year. I would not plan to see above A$.25 even with great news at this point. Strictly a LT stock at this point.

The problem is the mid cap and large cap energy stocks will drive stocks like SSN regardless of SSN results.

Bob

Chesapeake Reports Loss on Hedging Contracts
By Mike Lee - May 3, 2011 10:03 AM CT

(Corrects percentage change in gas prices in third paragraph of story published yesterday.)

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK), the most active U.S. natural-gas driller, reported a first-quarter loss after losing $725 million on energy hedging contracts.

Chesapeake had a net loss of $205 million, or 32 cents a share, compared with net income of $732 million, or $1.14 a year earlier, the Oklahoma City-based company said in a statement issued today on Business Wire.

The company lost $725 million in the quarter associated with contracts used to lock in commodity prices, according to the statement. The average price of gas during the quarter on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 16 percent to $4.197 per million British thermal units from $4.989 in the first three months of 2010.

After adjusting for the hedging losses and certain other gains and expenses, Chesapeake earned $518 million, or 75 cents a share. The company was expected to report adjusted earnings of 71 cents a share, based on the average of 32 analysts? estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Chesapeake reported revenue of $1.61 billion in the quarter, compared with $2.8 billion a year earlier.

The lower prices, ?combined with higher operating costs, really create the lower earnings impact,? Michael Bodino, head of energy research for Global Hunter Securities LLC, said in an e-mail. Bodino rates Chesapeake?s shares a ?buy? and owns none.
Oil Revenue

Chesapeake said its oil-and-gas production was 20 percent higher than in the first quarter of 2010 at an average equivalent of 3.1 billion cubic feet of gas a day. The percentage of revenue from oil and gas liquids rose to 23 percent during the quarter from 17 percent in the first quarter of 2010.

The company spent $5 billion last year buying new leases so that a greater proportion of its output is oil, which gained 20 percent in New York compared with the first quarter of 2010.

Chesapeake Chief Executive Officer Aubrey McClendon said on Jan. 6 the company would cut its debt 25 percent in two years while increasing production 25 percent. Chesapeake is the most active U.S. gas driller, according to data compiled by Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI)

Chesapeake announced in January the sale of a one-third stake in its Niobrara shale field for $570 million to Cnooc Ltd. (883), China?s largest offshore energy producer. Chesapeake sold its wells and pipelines in the Fayetteville Shale to BHP Billiton in March for $4.75 billion.
Second-Quarter Gain

Chesapeake said it will gain $200 million in the second quarter from a transaction involving its ownership in Frac Tech Services LLC, an oilfield-services company.

The earnings were released after the close of regular trading on U.S. markets. Chesapeake fell $1.05, or 3.26 percent, to $32.18 at 5:11 p.m. in after-hours trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares have 16 buy ratings from analysts, 16 holds and two sells.

Chesapeake joined other energy companies in reporting hedging losses in the quarter. Energy Future Holdings Corp., the Texas power company, reported losses of $203 million on contracts tied to the price of natural gas. Valero Energy Corp. (VLO), the San Antonio-based refiner, reported a $352 million hedging loss.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mike Lee in Dallas at [email protected].

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Susan Warren at [email protected].