By Robb M. Stewart


Cenovus Energy's shares jumped Thursday after the Canadian energy company logged a stronger-than-expected result for the final quarter of 2023 and made progress toward its debt target.

In morning trading, the shares were 5.6% higher at C$23.21 in Toronto, narrowing their decline over the last 12 months to 11%. On the New York Stock Exchange, Cenovus was up 6.4% at $17.29, and is now down 11% from a year ago.

The oil and natural-gas company reported net earnings of 743 million Canadian dollars ($548.6 million), or C$0.39 a share, down from C$784 million, or C$0.39, a year earlier as it was squeezed by lower commodity prices and refinery crack spreads, as well as the cost of processing crude bought in earlier periods at higher prices.

Adjusted fund flows per share fell to C$1.09 for the quarter from C$1.81, but topped the consensus expectation of analysts of C$1.01, a beat Jefferies analyst Lloyd Byrne said was tied to beats by Cenovus' conventional and offshore operations.

Revenue for the quarter fell 6.6% to C$13.1 billion from C$14.1 billion last year, with lower revenue in both its upstream and downstream divisions.

Production for the period averaged 808,600 barrels of oil equivalent a day, up from 797,000 the year before and ahead of the 805,300 expected by analysts. Downstream throughput fell 13% to 579,100 barrels a day on average.

Cenovus reduced net debt by C$916 million in the quarter, taking it to C$5.1 billion, and it said it continues to make progress toward its net debt target of C$4 billion.

"Debt remains low on both an absolute and relative basis, and we question why Cenovus does not move to increase shareholder returns sooner," Jefferies' Byrne said.


Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-15-24 1129ET