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Imperial Oil reports near-record first-quarter earnings
| Toronto, ON, April 21, 2004
| Imperial Oil Limited today announced net earnings for the first quarter of 2004 of $509 million or $1.40 a share, slightly below the company’s record earnings of $538 million or $1.42 a share in the first quarter of 2003.
Favorable market conditions that prevailed through most of 2003, including high international prices for crude oil and natural gas and strong manufacturing margins for petroleum and petrochemicals, continued through the first quarter of 2004. The company’s crude oil and natural gas production volumes were also higher than in the corresponding period of 2003.
However, these positive factors were more than offset by the negative effects of a higher Canadian dollar. Because petroleum markets are based on U.S. dollar prices, a rising Canadian dollar results in lower revenues. On average, the Canadian-to-U.S. dollar exchange rate was 15 percent higher than in the first quarter of 2003.
Total revenues for the quarter were $5,067 million, versus
$5,478 million in the first quarter of 2003. Capital and exploration expenditures were $345 million, compared with $355 in the corresponding quarter of 2003.
During the quarter the company repurchased 2.5 million shares for $147 million. The balance of cash and marketable securities at
March 31, 2004 was $311 million, from $448 million at the end of 2003.
“In spite of the negative revenue impacts of a higher Canadian dollar, earnings in the first quarter were close to those of last year, due to stronger operating performance,” said Imperial’s chairman, president and chief executive officer Tim Hearn. “We achieved real improvement in the controllable parts of the business, such as production volumes, operating reliability and cost management, and made solid progress on major projects to provide future growth.”
At the company’s annual meeting today, Mr. Hearn told shareholders that Imperial intends to remain in the forefront of future oil and gas development in Canada. “With our resource base, financial strength, technical capabilities and portfolio of high-potential investments in Canada’s major opportunity areas, we are well positioned for long-term growth in shareholder value,” he said.
Imperial Oil is one of the largest producers of crude oil and natural gas liquids in Canada, a major producer of natural gas, the largest refiner and marketer of petroleum products – sold primarily under the Esso brand name – and a major producer of petrochemicals.
Click here to read our first quarter interim report
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