Norwegian industrial group Norsk Hydro reported a steeper-than-expected 56 per cent fall in fourth-quarter operating profit today.
The energy and aluminium company reported that operating income in October-December fell to 4.57 billion Norwegian crowns ($745.9 million) from 10.36 billion crowns in the same quarter a year earlier.
The result undershot all forecasts, which ranged from 7.48 billion to 10.68 billion crowns in a Reuters poll of 15 analysts.
Hydro said the main reason for the weak quarterly result was a previously announced writedown of $836 million related to fields in the Gulf of Mexico, combined with charges related to the restructuring of the aluminium business.
But analysts had included that writedown in their forecasts, and operating results were poorer than expected both in the oil and energy business and in aluminium.
Hydro said the plan to integrate its oil and gas activities with Statoil is on track.
Larger Norwegian rival Statoil has agreed to buy Hydro's oil and gas activities for around $30 billion crowns in shares, and the deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2007.