Barnwell Industries Inc. decreases quarterly loss

Honolulu-based Barnwell Industries Inc. said several factors helped it narrow its loss in the January-through-March quarter from the same period a year earlier, including an improvement in the valuation of its oil and natural gas operations in Canada.

Wednesday the company reported a net loss of $285,000, or 3 cents a share, in its second fiscal quarter. That compared with a net loss of $2.94 million, or 36 cents a share, during the same three-month period a year ago.

The biggest factor affecting the financial results was the fact that the year-earlier quarter included a $2.18 million reduction in the carrying value of Barnwell’s Canadian assets, while this year’s quarter had no reduction in the value, according to a news release from Barnwell.

Also improving the results for the three months ended March 31 were decreased oil and natural gas operating expenses due to $700,000 in soil contamination remediation costs in the year-earlier quarter that were not present in the current quarter. Additionally, price increases for natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids boosted revenue in the current quarter.

Barnwell’s shares closed down 1 cent at $3.06 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.