Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE: SU) stock lost over 1.1% on Feb 6th, 2019 (as of 10:49 am GMT-5 ; Source: Google finance) as the company has reported a quarterly loss as compared with a profit a year ago, as lower prices for the country’s crude offset gains from higher refinery margins. This is primarily due to steep price discounts for western Canadian oil, including the upgraded synthetic crude it produces at its oilsands mining operations. The company has reported a net loss of C$280 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from a profit of C$1.38 billion, a year earlier. Further, the net loss got inflated due to accounting for inventory valuations and includes a $637-million non-cash foreign exchange loss on U.S. dollar denominated debt, as well as a non-cash impairment loss on one of the company’s equity investments.
SU’s operating earnings were $580 million or 36 cents per share, versus $1.31 billion or 79 cents in the year-earlier period, well below analyst expectations of $724 million, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.
Suncor had reported last month that it had record fourth quarter upstream production of 831,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up 12 per cent from the third quarter. The increase is primarily due to the addition of Fort Hills production, improved reliability and an additional working interest at Syncrude, and the continued ramp up of operations at Hebron. Oil Sands operations production was 432,700 bbls/d in the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to 446,800 bbls/d in the prior year quarter. The decrease was primarily on the back of lower SCO volumes as a result of planned and unplanned maintenance at Upgrader 2, partially offset by an increased volume of non‑upgraded bitumen from the company’s In Situ properties, with Firebag and MacKay River continuing to achieve solid reliability. The planned maintenance at Upgrader 2, which commenced in the third quarter of 2018, was completed during the fourth quarter and the unplanned maintenance was resolved by the end of the quarter. Upgrader utilization in the fourth quarter of 2018 was 79%, compared to 93% in the prior year period.
Meanwhile, SU had pent $1.119 billion on capital expenditures, excluding capitalized interest, during the fourth quarter of 2018, a decrease from $1.444 billion in the prior year quarter, primarily due to the decrease in growth capital with the commissioning of Fort Hills and Hebron.
The company has announced a 17 per cent increase in its quarterly dividend to 42 cents per share.