Announces preliminary Q2 earnings.

Murphy Oil Corp. has announced its current development status of its Murphy USA Inc. spin off, and its preliminary second quarter 2013 results.

Steven Cosse, president and CEO, of Murphy Oil Corp. noted that “substantial progress has been made” in the spin off of Murphy Oil Corp.’s retail gas station business into a separate company, Murphy USA Inc.  “We have received a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service confirming the tax-free status of the transaction and we are making good progress with our Securities and Exchange Commission filing,” he said in statement. “Murphy USA is in the process of finalizing its capital structure. We expect that the Murphy Oil Corp. Board of Directors will consider this progress at its meeting next Wednesday and we would expect to announce the Board’s conclusion shortly thereafter.”

Q2 Results
Murphy Oil Corp. reported net income of  $402.6 million, or $2.12 per diluted share in the 2013 second quarter, up 36% from $295.4 million or $1.52 per diluted share, in the second quarter 2012.

Income from continuing operations was $332.1 million, or $1.75 per diluted share, up 14% from $291.3 million, or $1.50 per diluted share, in the same quarter of 2012. Murphy Oil noted quarterly revenue of $7.2 billion, up from $7.1 billion in the same quarter last year. Analysts had predicted earnings of $1.55 per share.

Murphy Oil attributed the gains to growth in oil production in the Eagle Ford Shale area in South Texas.

Net income in the 2013 quarter included income from discontinued operations of $70.5 million, or 37 cents per share, primarily from an after-tax gain of $71.9 million from sale of the Mungo and Monan fields in the UK during the quarter.