Talisman swings to $237M loss, but Repsol still circling

Talisman Energy, which has been approached by Spain's Repsol for a potential deal, reports a second-quarter loss of net loss of $237 million US, or 23 cents per share.

That compares with a profit $97 million, or nine cents, per share in the same quarter of 2013.

Talismanhas said it has been approached by Repsol SA regarding possible deals, but the Spanish energy company may be more interested in scooping up parts of the company than buying the whole package.

The Calgary-based oil and gas producer has been a perennial subject of takeover speculation.

Takeover target

The pressure on Talisman to turn around its performance increased last October, when billionaire U.S. investor Carl Icahn revealed he'd bought a stake in the company, which was at about seven per cent.

Talisman is now focused on two core regions: the Americas, which includes North American shale deposits and Colombian oilfields, and southeast Asia. It also has promising oil prospects in the semi-autonomous Iraqi region of Kurdistan and offshore platforms in the U.K. and Norway sectors of the North Sea that have faced a litany of operational woes.

Following the expropriation of its Argentinian holdings in 2012, Repsol has signalled it would look for growth in countries that are members of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. A good chunk of Talisman's portfolio does not fall into that category.

In its financial results, Talisman said Tuesday that reasons such as an after-tax impairment charge and a non-cash mark-to-market loss on commodity derivatives accounted for the loss.

Total revenue was $1.24 billion compared with $1.19 billion in the same quarter last year.

Cash flow was $567 million, or 55 cents per share in the quarter, up eight per cent from $526 million, or 51 cents per share, year-over-year.

Analysts were expecting $1.36 billion in revenues on 55 cents per share for cash flow.

Total production was 375,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up four per cent year-over-year.