Canadian Natural Resources is raising its quarterly dividend as its fourth-quarter earnings beat consensus estimates, boosted by record oil and gas production last year.
Natural Resources Canada, Canada's largest oil and gas producer by market capitalization, reported adjusted earnings per share for the fourth quarter of 2023 on Thursday$72 (2.)$34), which is higher than the average analyst estimate of $1 compiled by LSEG$58 (2.)$15).
The company produced record oil and gas in both the fourth quarter and the full year. The average annual production in 2023 is about 13320,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up 4% year-on-year, and oil sands production hit a record high, up 6% year-on-year. Natural Resources Canada's quarterly average total production in the fourth quarter also hit an all-time high of about 1.42 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, up 10% compared to the fourth quarter of 2022.
After the end of the quarter, the Board of Directors approved an increase of 5% in the quarterly dividend to 0$77 (1.)CAD 05). "In line with our free cash flow distribution policy, we now aim to return 100% of our free cash flow to shareholders through dividends and repurchases," Chief Financial Officer Mark Stainthorpe said in a statement. ”
Tim McKay, Vice Chairman of Natural Resources Canada, commented, "We achieved record annual production while organically growing our reserves on top of total proven reserves and total proven reserves plus probable reserves, with reserve replacement rates of 166% and 194%, respectively. ”
Last week, Suncor Energy, another major Canadian producer, also beat its fourth-quarter earnings estimates, with its oil sands production jumping to a record high and its total upstream production hitting the second-highest in the company's history. Despite declining profits for all oil companies this earnings season due to oil and gas***, the increase in upstream production and the strength of downstream operations in the fourth quarter helped Suncor Energy exceed analysts' expectations. (Compiled by Xiao Chen).
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