Petro-Canada earnings gush on higher commodity prices
Last Updated: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 | 4:12 PM ET
CBC News
Booming oil prices helped Petro-Canada report a first-quarter profit of $1.08 billion on Tuesday.
The oil and natural gas producer said it made $2.22 a share in profit in the quarter, compared to net earnings of $590 million, or $1.19 a share, a year ago.
Factoring out one-time items, Petro-Canada said its operating profit for the quarter came in at $899 million, up from $580 million in the same period of last year.
"We're off to a good start for the year, with excellent first-quarter earnings," said Ron Brenneman, the company's president and chief executive officer, in a release.
The firm's first-quarter cash flow from operations was $1.85 billion, or $3.83 a share, up from $1.17 billion, or $2.35 a share, a year ago.
Sharply higher oil prices were behind much of the big jump in the company's earnings. Petro-Canada said higher commodity prices boosted its profit by $353 million from last year, while increased production added $71 million.
The company added that tighter margins in its refining business were a drag on its bottom line, reducing profit by $87 million in the quarter.
In conjunction with the release of its earnings, Petro-Canada announced a 13-cents-per-share quarterly dividend.
Petro-Canada shares slipped 29 cents to $49.84 on the TSX as oil prices retreated more than $3 US a barrel.
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