Suncor First-Quarter Profit Rises on Oil Price; Beats Estimates

Suncor Energy Inc. (SU), Canada’s largest energy company by market value, said first-quarter profit increased as it benefited from higher oil prices.

Net income rose to C$1.46 billion ($1.48 billion), or 93 cents a share, from C$1.03 billion, 65 cents, a year earlier, the Calgary-based company said today in a statement on Market Wire. That beat the 81-cent average of 18 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

West Texas crude, the U.S. benchmark, traded at an average of $103.03 a barrel in New York during the first three months of the year, 8.9 percent more than a year earlier.

Output dropped to the equivalent of 562,300 barrels a day, compared with 601,300 a year earlier. Average daily oil-sands production, the company’s main product, was 305,700 barrels a day from 322,100 barrels a year earlier.

Suncor owns oil-sands operations in northern Alberta, as well as wind farms, a biofuel plant and offshore oil assets.

The earnings were announced after regular trading ended on North American markets. The stock has 21 buy and three hold ratings from analysts.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeremy van Loon in Calgary at jvanloon@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Susan Warren at susanwarren@bloomberg.net