Debt still a drag on Compton

Article Excerpt

COMPTON PETROLEUM $1.02 (Toronto symbol CMT; SI Rating: Speculative) (403-237-9400; www.comptonpetroleum.com; Shares outstanding: 263.6 million; Market cap: $268.9 million; No dividends paid) explores for oil and natural gas in western Canada. About 83% of its production is natural gas. In the three months ended December 31, 2009, Compton’s cash flow per share fell sharply, to $0.03 from $0.23 a year earlier. Revenue fell 45%, to $57.6 million from $104.8 million. Lower oil and gas prices contributed to the declines. As well, the company saw a 22.2% drop in production because it sold land to pay down debt. To further pay down debt, Compton sold $80.8 million of royalties on its production and raised $172.5 million in a share issue. Even so, its total debt is still a very high $568.9 million, or 2.1 times its market cap. As a result, Compton will need to keep using some of its cash flow to pay down debt. It may also have to continue cutting its exploration…