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Hot Growth Special Report 2006 >

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41

St. Mary Land & Exploration (SM)

Drilling successes, coupled with boffo oil and gas prices, are making St. Mary a gusher. The Denver-based outfit, which operates across the West and Southwest, can boast of a novelty in the drilling business -- 100% success rates -- in some of its fields. It took part, for instance, in sinking 26 wells in one Montana county that all turned out to be productive. Other areas, such as efforts in North Dakota, were disappointing. But overall, high-performing spots, such as the natural-gas fields in the Hanging Woman Basin in Wyoming and Montana, helped drive up earnings 64%, to $151.9 million, on a 71% rise in revenue, to $739.6 million. Net of hedging, St. Mary reaped a 57% gain in price per barrel of oil, realizing an average price just under $51. Even if oil prices slip this year, recent successes in drilling should power more gains.

Company Info

2005 Rank

67

Market Value*
($ Millions)

2,401.9

Sales*
($ Millions)

789.1

Sales Growth
(3-yr. avg. annual)

50.6 %

Profits*
($ Millions)

167.4

Profit Growth
(3-yr. avg. annual)

67.3 %

Return on Inv. Capital (3-yr.)

15.5 %

Share Price
12-Mo. Hi/Lo

46/22

Share Price
As of 4/28/06

42

Return on Equity

26.4 %

P/E Ratio

17

No. of Employees

305

Industry Oil & Gas Exploration & Production
CURRENT
MARKET INFO

SM >

COMPANY WEB SITE >
Location Denver
Phone 303 861-8140
*Trailing 12 months
Stock price data as of 4/28/06
DATA: Standard & Poor's Compustat

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Company Snapshot

St. Mary Land & Exploration Company engages in the exploration, development, acquisition, and production of natural gas and crude oil in the U.S. Its main regions include the mid-continent, the ArkLaTex, the Gulf Coast, the Rocky Mountain, and the Permian Basin. The mid-continent region includes its operations in the Anadarko and Arkoma Basins in Oklahoma and northern Texas. The ArkLaTex region includes properties in east Texas, northern Louisiana, southern Arkansas, and southern Mississippi. The Gulf Coast region includes properties in the Gulf of Mexico and onshore in south Louisiana and south Texas. The Rocky Mountain region includes the Williston Basin in eastern Montana and western North Dakota, the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming, and the Greater Green River, Big Horn, and Wind River Basins in Wyoming. The Permian Basin region includes its properties in eastern New Mexico and western Texas. As of Dec. 31, 2005, the company had estimated proved reserves of approximately 62.9 million barrels of oil and 417.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas. St. Mary Land & Exploration was founded in 1908 and has its headquarters in Denver, Colo.


Data provided by Capital IQ
 
Mark A. Hellerstein

Mark A. Hellerstein, 51

Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President


Total Compensation*

$ 4,605,399

Total Options Value*

$ 22,833,493

* Fiscal Year 2005


Executive Bio

Mark Hellerstein has been a director of St. Mary Land & Exploration Co. since 1992 and serves as a member of executive committee. Hellerstein has been the chairman of the board since September, 2002; president since 1992; and chief executive since 1995. From 1995 to 1998, he also served as chairman of the board of Summo Minerals (now known as Constellation Copper), a copper mining company in which St. Mary held an interest.


Management Team

Key Executives

Mark A. Hellerstein; Milam Randolph Pharo; Robert L. Nance; Garry A. Wilkening; Robert T. Hanley; Jerry R. Schuyler; David W. Honeyfield; Paul M. Veatch; Anthony J. Best; W. David Hart; Linda A. Ditsworth; Michael F. Roach; Mark T. Solomon; David J. Whitcomb; James C. Robertson; Karin M. Writer

Board Directors

Larry W. Bickle; William J. Gardiner; John M. Seidl; Thomas E. Congdon; Mark A. Hellerstein; Barbara M. Baumann; William D. Sullivan


Executive Data provided by Capital IQ