OREANDA-NEWS.  November 05, 2013. Encana Corporation (TSX:ECA)(NYSE:ECA) recorded a second consecutive profitable quarter with third quarter 2013 net earnings of USD 188 million or USD 0.25 per share, cash flow of USD 660 million or USD 0.89 per share and operating earnings of USD 150 million or USD 0.20 per share.

Year to date, the Company has generated net earnings of USD 487 million or USD 0.66 per share, cash flow of USD 1.9 billion or USD 2.58 per share and operating earnings of USD 576 million or USD 0.78 per share.

Oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs) production volumes in the quarter averaged approximately 58,200 barrels per day (bbls/d), a 92 percent year-over-year increase compared to the third quarter of 2012.

The company remains on track to achieve total liquids production of 50,000 bbls/d to 60,000 bbls/d for the year, compared to an average of 31,000 bbls/d in 2012, and expects to exit the year with liquids production in the 70,000 bbls/d to 75,000 bbls/d range. Year-to-date, 64 percent of Encana's liquids production is comprised of higher-value condensate and light oil.

Third quarter natural gas production volumes averaged approximately 2.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). Encana has revised its guidance for expected 2013 natural gas production to be between 2.7 Bcf/d and 2.8 Bcf/d, an adjustment which reflects asset divestitures and delays associated with ongoing work to ramp up the Deep Panuke offshore project to its full production capacity.

Cost improvement initiatives starting to show results

Earlier in the year, Encana set a target to achieve cost savings and capital efficiency gains of USD 100 million to USD 150 million over 18 months relative to budgeted plans; by year-end, the Company expects to realize about USD 110 million of that total. The Company expects full year cash flow to be near the high end of its current guidance range and has lowered its capital spending guidance to reflect a planned spend in the range of USD 2.7 billion to USD 2.9 billion. Encana finished the quarter with a period end balance of about USD 3.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents.

"The effort our staff has made in reducing costs has contributed to improved cash flow. Our disciplined capital focus through the year along with our stronger cash balance, positions us well as we prepare to make changes to align the business with our future strategic direction," says Doug Suttles, Encana President & CEO. "In addition, we are on track to hit our year-end exit rate liquids production target of 70,000 bbls/d to 75,000 bbls/d."

Encana has today posted its revised Corporate Guidance on its website, www.encana.com.

Strategy review process making rapid progress

"We are making rapid progress in the development of our strategy and reached a major milestone with the recent announcement of our new organizational structure and Senior Management team," says Suttles. "We're focusing our energy on finalizing our strategy which will inform our capital allocation decisions for 2014 and beyond."

"Our goal is to make Encana a more focused, dynamic and efficient organization," adds Suttles. "The changes we've made to date and the changes we will be making in the near term are positioning Encana to generate high quality returns for our shareholders."