WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Hess Corp. (HES) said Wednesday that it swung to a fourth quarter loss, hurt mainly by a hefty charge related to the shutdown of a refinery in U.S. Virgin Islands. The New York-based oil and gas company reported a net loss of $131 million or $0.39 per share, compared to net income of $58 million or $0.18 per share for the year-ago quarter. The latest quarter results include an after-tax charge of $525 million related to the company's investment in HOVENSA L.L.C. and the shutdown of the refinery in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Excluding items affecting comparability between periods, fourth quarter net income was $394 million, compared to $398 million in the prior year quarter. On average, 18 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $1.27 per share for the fourth quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. Total revenue and non-operating income for the fourth quarter grew 1.5% to $8.82 billion from $8.69 billion in the same quarter last year. Four analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $8.60 billion for the fourth quarter. The company's exploration and production earnings for the quarter rose 26% to $527 million in the fourth quarter from $420 million a year earlier, benefiting from higher crude oil natural gas selling prices. However, production for the fourth quarter fell 13% to 367,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from 420,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day last year, largely due to production interruptions and asset sales. The company's marketing and refining business generated a loss of $561 million in the fourth quarter, wider than a loss of $261 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, due to the refinery shutdown charge. Hess shares are currently trading at $57.65, down $2.67 or 4.43%.
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