S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX) reported net income above Wall Street’s expectations for the fourth quarter. Consol Energy is a coal and gas energy producer and energy services provider that mainly serves the electric power generation industry in the United States.

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CONSOL Energy Earnings Cheat Sheet for the Fourth Quarter

Results: Net income for CONSOL Energy Inc. rose to $195.6 million (85 cents per share) vs. $104.5 million (47 cents per share) in the same quarter a year earlier. This marks a rise of 87.3% from the year earlier quarter.

Revenue: Rose 13.6% to $1.54 billion from the year earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: CNX beat the mean analyst estimate of 62 cents per share. It beat the average revenue estimate of $1.44 billion.

Quoting Management: “CONSOL Energy has a world class set of assets,” commented J. Brett Harvey, chairman and CEO. “In our Coal Division for 2011, we were able to combine reliable operations with astute marketing to generate record net income. Our record results were even more impressive when one realizes that, on the gas side, weakening gas prices throughout 2011 largely offset our record gas production. For CONSOL, 2011 was a year characterized by our ability to seize opportunities and, in some cases, to create opportunities.”

Key Stats:

The company has now seen net income rise in three straight quarters. In the third quarter, net income rose more than twofold and in the second quarter, the figure rose 16.1%.

Revenue has risen the past four quarters. Revenue increased 12.8% to $1.52 billion in the third quarter. The figure rose 23.2% in the second quarter from the year earlier and climbed 18.2% in the first quarter from the year-ago quarter.

The company has now beaten estimates the last two quarters. In the third quarter, it topped expectations with net income of 73 cents versus a mean estimate of net income of 67 cents per share.

Looking Forward: The outlook for the company’s results in the upcoming quarter is unfavorable. The average estimate for the first quarter of the next fiscal year is 81 cents per share, down from $1.10 ninety days ago. For the fiscal year, the average estimate has moved up from $2.90 a share to $2.95 over the last ninety days.

Competitors to Watch: Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU), Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE:ACI), Alliance Holdings GP, L.P. (NASDAQ:AHGP), Intl. Coal Group, Inc. (NYSE:ICO), Patriot Coal Corporation (NYSE:PCX), Massey Energy Company (NYSE:MEE), Natural Resource Partners LP (NYSE:NRP), Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE:ANR), James River Coal Company (NASDAQ:JRCC), and Oxford Resource Partners, LP (NYSE:OXF).

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(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

To contact the reporter on this story: Derek Hoffman at staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Damien Hoffman at editors@wallstcheatsheet.com

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