* Q4 gas and oil sales $100.2 mln
Feb 9 (Reuters) - Energy company Comstock Resources Inc (CRK.N) swung to a fourth-quarter loss, hurt by declining market prices for crude oil and natural gas and impairment charges.
For the quarter ended Dec 31, the company's net loss was $96.4 million, or $2.15 per share, compared with a profit of $21.7 million, or 50 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding items, net income was 22 cents a share.
Comstock said it had incurred one-time impairment charges of $2.33 per share in the quarter related to its investments in Stone Energy Corp (SGY.N) and 22 cents per share for its oil and gas properties.
The company said that while its production for the quarter increased, its realised oil and gas prices fell 30 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
Comstock also said it was reducing its 2009 drilling budget from $450 million to $366 million in response to weak natural gas prices.
Shares of the company closed at $40.27 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.
For the alerts, please double click [ID:nWNAB0465] (Reporting by Arup Roychoudhury in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
(arup.roychoudhury@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging: arup.roychoudhury.reuters.com@reuters.net))
