Encana Corp. (NYSE: ECA) on July 21 posted a quarterly profit that handily beat estimates and the company said it was expecting a strong 2018 even with current commodity prices.

Oil prices began to rise late last year after a two-year slump and are now hovering around $50 per barrel as an OPEC-led production cut and a rebound in demand slowly erode a global glut.

Encana has benefited from downsizing its operations to focus on four core North American assets: the Montney and Duvernay in western Canada, and the Eagle Ford and Permian in the U.S.

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The company raised its forecast for production growth from core assets in 2017 to between 25% and 30% from the more than 20% growth it had forecast in May.

Encana reported operating earnings of 18 cents per share, which largely beat analysts' average estimate of 4 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Calgary, Alberta-based Encana posted net earnings of $331 million, or 34 cents per share, in the second quarter ended June 30, compared with a loss of $601 million, or 71 cents per share, a year earlier.

Operating earnings, which exclude most one-time items, doubled to $180 million.

However, Encana said core asset production fell to 246,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) from 268,300 boe/d in the year-ago quarter.

Total oil and gas production fell to 316,000 boe/d, including total liquids production of 124,900 barrels per day, from 368,300 boe/d a year earlier.