Canadian Natural Posts Loss Amid Lower Oil Prices
May 05 2016 - 10:10AM
Dow Jones News
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. on Thursday posted a
smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss even as slumping crude-oil
prices contributed to a 52% drop in cash flow.
The Calgary, Alberta-based oil and gas producer said production
volumes met its guidance in the first three months of the year and
operating costs fell, while West Texas Intermediate benchmark
prices were at their lowest level for any quarter since the start
of 2004.
Canadian Natural reported a net loss of 105 million Canadian
dollars (about $82 million), or 10 Canadian cents a share, in its
quarter ended March 31. A year earlier, it lost C$252 million, or
23 Canadian cents a share.
Adjusted to exclude certain items, Canadian Natural lost C$543
million, or 50 Canadian cents a share. Analysts polled by
Thomson
Reuters were expecting a loss of 57 Canadian cents a share.
Cash flow slumped to C$657 million from C$1.37 billion a year
earlier, largely due to lower benchmark pricing and lower sales
volumes. WTI benchmark prices fell 31% to just over $33 a barrel,
it noted.
The company, which has slashed it capital-spending budget
several times since early 2015, said its overall operating costs
fell 14% from a year earlier. Capital spending in its latest
quarter totaled C$1.04 billion, down from C$1.41 billion a year
earlier. Its budget for 2016 is estimated at between C$3.5 billion
and C$3.9 billion.
Production volumes for the quarter averaged 844,531 barrels of
oil equivalent a day, which the company said was in line with
fourth-quarter levels and within its previously guided range of
between of 829,000 barrels and 860,000 barrels a day.
Write to Judy McKinnon at judy.mckinnon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 05, 2016 09:55 ET (13:55 GMT)
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