Suncor reported an adjusted profit of $1.48 per share for the quarter ended September 30, compared with the analysts’ average estimate of $1.08 per share.Candace Elliott/Reuters
Integrated oil and gas firm Suncor Energy SU-T beat third-quarter profit estimates on Tuesday, as higher production and strong refining margins helped offset lower prices.
Demand and margins for refiners are recovering after last year’s slump, when profits eased from post-pandemic highs and supply disruptions from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The company’s refining and marketing segment reported operating adjusted earnings of $894-million, up about 85 per cent from a year earlier.
Its refined product sales were up 5.6 per cent to its record high of 646,800 barrels per day from a year earlier, while refinery utilization was at 106 per cent, compared with 105 per cent last year.
The company also benefited from higher upstream production, which was at 870,000 bpd in the quarter, up 5 per cent from a year earlier.
Canadian oil producers are gaining from the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline, which opens access to global markets and lessens their dependence on the U.S. pipeline system.
The production helped offset lower oil prices, which were down about 14 per cent to $97.45 per barrel, after OPEC+ accelerated output hikes and raised concerns about oversupply.
The company also raised its current-year production forecast by about 3 per cent, its refinery throughput by about 7 per cent and its refined product sales by about 8 per cent, at the midpoint.
The company reported an adjusted profit of $1.48 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with the analysts’ average estimate of $1.08 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.