eFinanceMarkets
7 years ago
$SU Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) announces better than expected Q4 earnings and a 12.5% increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.36/share.
SU reports Q4 operating profit of C$0.79/share, ahead of the C$0.72 analyst consensus estimate and above C$0.38 in the same quarter a year ago, and funds from operations hit a quarterly record $3B, well above the $2.4B in Q4 2016.
SU says Q4 production from Alberta’s oil sands rose 3.1% Y/Y to 446.8K bbl/day while operating cash costs fell to C$24.20/bbl vs. C$24.95/bbl in the year-ago period, and the company's share of production at the Syncrude joint venture fell 6.7% to 174.4K bbl/day while operating cash costs edged up to C$32.80/bbl vs. C$32.55/bbl a year ago.
"With Fort Hills and Hebron both successfully commissioned and now producing oil, the safe and steady ramp-up of production is proceeding as planned," CEO Steve Williams says.
eFinanceMarkets
8 years ago
Suncor Energy added to Conviction Buy List at Goldman
Suncor Energy (SU +1.7%) is higher after Goldman Sachs adds the stock to its Conviction Buy List and assigns a $38 price target, forecasting that revenue from its new Hebron field and Fort Hills projects will mean more production and cash flow.
Goldman believes SU has the ability to not just break even, but generate "strong" free cash flow, perhaps even at lower oil prices following the company's strides in lowering its cost of production in recent years; the firm thinks SU would apply the cash to stock buybacks and dividend hikes.
Even with the cost advantage, Goldman believes investors are undervaluing SU shares, and that the stock trades at an attractive discount to peers.
Other Goldman favorites among oil and gas producers and refiners are Marathon Petroleum, Valero Energy, Husky Energy and Chevron.
eFinanceMarkets
8 years ago
Syncrude cuts April production to zero, opens door for Mexico
Canadian crude shipments to the U.S. are poised to shrink after the Syncrude oil sands project tells customers they will not receive any supply during April from its 350K bbl/day upgrader, Bloomberg reports.
Syncrude has cut its production to zero for all of April following a fire last month, according to the report, yesterday sending Western Canadian Select crude to its highest level since June 2015, when wildfires in Alberta disrupted production.
The loss of the Canadian shipments comes as U.S. refiners are returning from seasonal maintenance and shipments from the Middle East are declining; analysts say Mexico stands to benefit from the disruption, as the higher heavy Canadian crude prices make Mexico's similar Maya grade more attractive to U.S. Gulf Coast refiners.
Syncrude is majority owned by Suncor Energy (SU +0.4%), with other partners including Imperial Oil (IMO +1.2%), Canadian Oil Sands (OTCQX:COSWF), Murphy Oil (MUR +1.4%), Sinopec (SNP +0.8%) and Cnooc's (CEO +0.8%) Nexen.
Timothy Smith
9 years ago
Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) says it has offered to acquire all outstanding shares of Canadian Oil Sands (OTCQX:COSWF) for ~C$4.3B ($3.3B), a 43% premium over Friday's closing price.
Including the company’s estimated outstanding net debt of C$2.3B as of June 30, the total transaction value would be ~C$6.6B.
The offer for CPSWF, which owns 37% of the Syncrude oil sands consortium, comes as the company struggles with a slumping stock price due partly to low crude prices.
For SU, the deal would give it a growing presence in the Canadian oil sands after recently boosting its stake in the Fort Hills oil sands project in Alberta to just over 50% by buying a 10% stake from project partner Total.
Enterprising Investor
10 years ago
Is Suncor Energy Inc. Really a Good Investment? (3/06/15)
Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU)(NYSE:SU) is one of the most popular stocks in Canada, and investors could be forgiven for thinking the company is the holy grail of stock picks in the energy patch.
After all, Warren Buffett just added to his sizeable Suncor position, and you would be hard pressed to find anyone saying the stock should be avoided.
Let’s take a look at Suncor to see what all the excitement is about.
Performance
Shareholders get returns through stock price appreciation and dividend payments.
Investors who bought Suncor’s stock 20 years ago have enjoyed a 1,500% increase in the share price. On the dividend side, the company has increased the quarterly payout by more than 800% in the last 10 years, from three cents to 28 cents per share.
Not too shabby.
Repurchasing shares is also an effective way a company can reward investors because every share that is purchased and cancelled gives the remaining shareholders a bigger slice of the pie.
Back in September 2011, there were 1.574 billion Suncor shares outstanding. At the end of 2014, that number was 1.444 billion. That means the company bought back and cancelled 130 million shares, or more than 8% of the outstanding stock in just three years.
Share buybacks also suggest the company’s leaders are making disciplined capital-allocation choices. Choosing to return cash to stockholders instead of investing it means the company is sticking to its return on capital objectives.
Note: Suncor’s buyback program is currently on hold, and its 2015 capital program has been reduced by $1 billion to accommodate weakness in the oil market.
Risks
Suncor’s shares are actually trading higher than they were 12 months ago, but oil prices are still 50% below their levels at this time last year. This is a bit concerning. A weak Canadian dollar offsets the drop a bit, but the stock was either undervalued then, or is fully valued now.
Another issue to consider is the global movement to divest holdings in fossil fuel stocks. Last September, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund joined a group of 800 governments, institutions, and private investors who have said they will exit fossil fuel investments in the next five years. At this point, I think the threat to Suncor is minimal. More than 60% of Suncor is owned by institutional investors, but they are unlikely to divest as long as Suncor remains a profitable holding.
The threat of new climate change regulations is also coming onto the radar. In order to keep global warming below the critical two-degrees point, energy companies could be forced to permanently abandon reserves. For political and economic reasons, that’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.
So, should you buy Suncor?
The company’s integrated business model offers investors a hedge against falling oil prices. Suncor has four world-class refineries and a great retail network of service stations. These bring in reliable revenues that help offset lower income from the upstream operations. Oil prices could take another run at $40 or even go lower, but analysts tend to believe prices will eventually move back to $70 or $80 per barrel.
Suncor is a solid long-term holding. Given the current volatility in the oil market, the stock is probably a hold right now. New investors might get a shot at a better entry point in the next few months.
http://www.fool.ca/2015/03/06/is-suncor-energy-inc-really-a-good-investment/
Enterprising Investor
10 years ago
Alberta likely to face recession because of low oil prices (1/13/15)
TORONTO — Alberta’s oil-heavy economy will likely dip into recession as oil prices plunge, according to a report by a Canadian economic think-tank.
In another sign of trouble, Canada’s largest oil sands company, Suncor Energy Inc, announced massive layoffs Tuesday.
The Conference Board of Canada said the western Canadian province’s latest employment and new housing start numbers are holding steady, but that Alberta will slip into recession if oil prices stay low. Alberta has the world’s third-largest oil reserves after Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, and Canadian oil is the single largest source of U.S. oil imports.
“It’s going to be very hard for Alberta to avoid a recession this year,” said Glen Hodgson, the think tank’s chef economist.
The price of a barrel of oil has plummeted from $105 as recently as June to $45.89 on Tuesday — its lowest price in six years.
“Going forward, the province is certain to suffer, especially on the employment front, from the drop in oil prices — and it is likely to slip into recession,” Daniel Fields, an economist at the not-for-profit research organization, said in the report released late Monday.
Suncor announced after markets closed Tuesday that it is reducing its workforce by 1,000 and cutting $1 billion from its capital budget in response to plummeting crude oil prices.
The Calgary-based oil sands giant said the job cuts will mainly affect contractors, but include some employee positions as well.
In November, Suncor predicted capital spending for 2015 would range between $7.2 billion and $7.8 billion.
Projects that haven’t yet been given a final go-ahead by Suncor’s board are being deferred, such as expansions to the MacKay River project in northeastern Alberta and the White Rose development off the east coast.
But major projects under construction such as the $13.5-billion Fort Hills mine north of Fort McMurray, Alberta are moving ahead as planned.
However, Alberta’s premier disputed the Conference Board’s predictions that his province could slip into recession.
“I didn’t find their analysis to be particularly cogent to be frank, and the opinion that they put forward is an outlier among all of the other opinions that have been put forward by every one of Canada’s chartered banks,” Jim Prentice said during a press conference Tuesday. “And by other respected forecasters.”
Prentice, however, warned Albertans they face several difficult years in response to low oil prices. He said it’s a very different situation than the 2008 global financial crisis, when Canada avoided the worst effects because of a strong financial system.
The deputy head of Canada’s central bank, Timothy Lane, said if crude prices persist, they will significantly discourage investment in the oil sector, which he said accounts for about 3 percent of Canada’s gross domestic product. The central bank said that low oil and commodity prices are putting the Canadian economy’s post-recession recovery at risk.
His remarks follow Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz’s statement last month that low oil prices could knock 0.3 percentage points off the pace of economic growth.
Last year, Alberta’s economy grew by 3.9 percent, according the province’s website. Alberta has led all of Canada’s provinces in GDP growth over the past two decades, due in large part to its oil industry revenues.
But Hodgson said that could easily change. Even if oil prices rebound to $65 per barrel, he forecasts that investment, profits and consumer spending will be down.
Already, Calgary-based Canadian Natural Resources Limited, an oil and gas exploration, development and production company, announced this week that it will spend $2.4 billion less than expected this year. Other Canadian energy companies such as Cenovus and Husky Energy have also recently announced reduced capital budgets.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2015/01/13/alberta-likely-to-face-recession-because-of-low-oil-prices/
Enterprising Investor
10 years ago
Canadian oil firm to cut 1,000 jobs, curb spending (1/13/15)
HOUSTON – Canadian oil sands firm Suncor Energy said Tuesday it plans to cut 1,000 jobs, primarily contract positions, as it trims $1 billion out of its investment plans this year.
It’s also gutting its operational expenses by $600 million to $800 million over the next two years. Suncor is the latest to burn off budget fat as petroleum prices crash, joining peers like Canadian Natural Resources, which said this week it anticipates a $2 billion spending cut of its own.
“Cost management has been an ongoing focus, with successful efforts to reduce both capital and operating costs well underway before the decline in oil prices,” Suncor CEO Steve Williams said in a written statement. “However, in today’s low crude price environment, it’s essential we accelerate this work.”
That involves deferring some oil projects and implementing a hiring freeze for non-critical jobs. The Calgary-based firm said it expects to produce from its oil sands operations 540,000 to 585,000 barrels of oil a day this year. Despite the budget cut, Suncor’s projections for its oil production remains unchanged from prior estimates, it said.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2015/01/13/canadian-oil-firm-to-cut-1000-jobs-curb-spending/
Vegas Matt
11 years ago
Suncor Energy shareholders approve all resolutions at Annual General Meeting
Date : 04/29/2014 @ 9:04PM
Source : Marketwired
Stock : Suncor Energy Inc. (SU)
Quote : 38.377 -0.563 (-1.45%) @ 10:29AM
Suncor Energy shareholders approve all resolutions at Annual General Meeting
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Suncor Energy shareholders approve all resolutions at Annual General Meeting
EDMONTON, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Apr 29, 2014) - Suncor Energy held its Annual General Meeting in Edmonton today. A total of approximately 985 million shares (approximately 66.95% of outstanding common shares) were represented in person or by proxy.
During the regular business proceedings at the meeting, shareholders approved the following resolutions:
The appointment of 13 board members (12 of whom are independent), with shares represented at the meeting voting in favour of individual directors as follows:
Mel E. Benson 96.89%
Dominic D'Alessandro 99.41%
W. Douglas Ford 96.05%
John Gass 99.78%
Paul Haseldonckx 99.28%
John R. Huff 95.97%
Jacques Lamarre 99.61%
Maureen McCaw 97.20%
Michael W. O'Brien 99.33%
James W. Simpson 97.18%
Eira M. Thomas 97.34%
Steven W. Williams 99.74%
Michael M. Wilson 99.78%
The appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as Suncor's auditors.
Management's approach to executive compensation (say on pay) disclosed in Suncor's management proxy circular, with 93.53% of shares represented at the meeting voting in favour of the advisory resolution.
Note: The biographies of Board members and further details about Suncor's corporate governance practices are available on suncor.com.
The text of remarks by Steve Williams, president and chief executive officer, and Steve Reynish, interim chief financial officer, are available in the newsroom section of suncor.com. An archive of the video webcast of the meeting will be available for the next 90 days at suncor.com/webcasts.
Suncor Energy is Canada's leading integrated energy company. Suncor's operations include oil sands development and upgrading, conventional and offshore oil and gas production, petroleum refining, and product marketing under the Petro-Canada brand. While working to responsibly develop petroleum resources, Suncor is also developing a growing renewable energy portfolio. Suncor's common shares (symbol: SU) are listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges.
For more information about Suncor Energy visit our web site at suncor.com, follow us on Twitter @SuncorEnergy, read our blog, OSQAR or come and See what Yes can do.
Media inquiries:
403-296-4000
media@suncor.com
Investor inquiries:
800-558-9071
invest@suncor.com