By Imani Moise

Hess Corp. (HES) posted a deeper loss in the latest quarter, though earnings slid less than expected as the company benefited from higher energy selling prices.

The company's average realized crude oil selling price increased 4.9% to $45.97 over the quarter and the natural gas selling price was grew 53% to $14.68. Energy prices have been on the rise lately after an extended drop.

Hess's exploration and production business posted an adjusted loss of $257 million in the quarter, compared with a loss of $328 million a year ago. Oil and gas production fell 15% to 311,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day.

Over all for the quarter, Hess reported a loss of $4.89 billion, or $15.65 a share, compared with a loss of $1.82 billion, or $6.43, a year earlier. Excluding items affecting comparability between periods, the company posted a loss of $305 million, or $1.01 a share, compared with $396 million, or $1.40 a share, a year earlier. The most-recent quarter included a non-cash accounting charge of $3.75 billion on deferred tax assets.

Revenue fell 0.07% to $1.39 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast a loss of $1.09 on $1.23 billion in revenue.

Shares, inactive premarket, closed at $57.52 and have risen 13% over the past three months.

Write to Imani Moise at imani.moise@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 25, 2017 08:46 ET (13:46 GMT)