Nov 4 (Reuters) - Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (CNQ.TO) reported a quarterly profit that beat analysts' expectations, as the country's biggest independent oil explorer continued to see strong production growth at its projects.
For July-September, the company earned C$580 million ($576 million), or 53 Canadian cents a share. It had reported earnings of C$658 million, or 61 Canadian cents a share, same quarter a year ago.
It reported adjusted profit of C$606 million, or 55 Canadian cents a share.
Cash flow, an indicator of company's ability to pay for new projects and drilling, rose more than 2 percent to C$1.54 billion, or C$1.42 per share.
Revenue, before royalties, rose 18 percent to C$3.34 billion.
Analysts on average expected the company to earn 48 Canadian cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. They expected cash flow of C$1.34 per share.
Total production before royalties increased 8 percent to 621,284 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
The company forecast 2010 production of 1,242-1,250 mmcf/d of natural gas and 423,000-430,000 bbl/d of crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs).
It expects fourth-quarter production of 1,248-1,273 mmcf/d of natural gas and 432,000-456,000 bbl/d of crude oil and NGLs.
Shares of the Calgary, Alberta-based company have largely remained flat this year. They closed at C$37.74 on Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. ($1=1.007 Canadian Dollar) (Reporting by Ashutosh Joshi in Bangalore; Editing by Vinu Pilakkott)
