Phillips Petroleum Earnings to Miss Estimates

Phillips Petroleum Co., the sixth-largest U.S. oil company, said its earnings will miss analysts’ estimates for the first quarter. Chairman Jim Mulva said the company’s first-quarter profit will be 75% to 85% higher than the year-earlier quarter’s $1.06 a share. That would make first-quarter profit $1.86 to $1.96 a share, less than the $2.19 average estimate of analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial. The company expects to meet or exceed 2001 expectations, Mulva said. The First Call estimate is $6.92. Phillips, which is buying refiner Tosco Corp., also said shareholders of both companies approved the $8.3-billion transaction. The Federal Trade Commission had requested additional information on Monday from Phillips about the purchase. The transaction, announced in February, still is expected to close by the end of the third quarter, Phillips said. Shares of Bartlesville, Okla.-based Phillips fell $1.12 to close at $56.47 on the NYSE. Tosco, based in Old Greenwich, Conn., closed off 75 cents at $43.35, also on the NYSE.