March 7 (Reuters) - Canada's Crescent Point Energy CPG.TO missed analysts' estimates for fourth-quarter output on Thursday, as the oil and gas producer sold several production assets in 2018.
The company's strategy to sell assets to reduce debt and use a part of the money to finance its expansion in production in Viewfield Bakken, Shaunavon and Flat Lake assets in Saskatchewan is yet to pay off.
The company has set aside 55 percent of 2019 capital spending to ramp up production in these areas, even as it lowered the spending by 30 percent to C$1.2 billion to C$1.3 billion in January in the wake of declining oil prices.
Crescent Point's total average production fell 0.4 percent to 178,198 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) from a year earlier. Analysts had expected an average production of 204,779 boe/d.
The company said average selling prices fell to C$48.28 per barrel of oil equivalent from C$55.64.
The oil and gas producer said net loss widened to C$2.39 billion ($1.78 billion), or C$4.35 per share, in the quarter ended Dec.31, from C$56.4 million, or 10 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier, hurt by an impairment charge of C$3.69 billion. items, the company reported a loss of 3 Canadian cents per share. ($1 = 1.3424 Canadian dollars)