Imperial Oil fourth quarter profit up by 26%

Imperial Oil Ltd. says fourth-quarter net income increased 26 per cent, as rising oil prices offset a decline in production.

Net income rose to $1 billion or $1.18 per share, from $799 million, or 94 cents, a year earlier, the Calgary-based company said in a statement on CNS Newswire Tuesday. Per-share profit was 30 cents more than the average of three analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Average output fell 3.6 per cent to the equivalent of 291,000 barrels of oil a day from 302,000 barrels a year earlier. Scheduled maintenance reduced production at Syncrude Canada Ltd., in which Imperial owns a 25 per cent stake.

Oil gained 10 per cent on the New York Mercantile Exchange during the quarter, averaging $94.06 a barrel compared with $85.24 a year earlier. The company sold oil for an average of $89.06 a barrel during the quarter.

Sales rose 17 per cent to $8.12 billion.

The company reported that it processed an average of 433,000 barrels a day in its refineries, a 7.3 per cent drop from the same period a year earlier.

Imperial’s refineries ran at 85 per cent of capacity in the fourth quarter, down from 93 per cent.

Imperial expects its Kearl oilsands project to begin operating in late 2012.

The project is expected to have initial capacity to produce 110,000 barrels a day, rising to 345,000 barrels by the end of this decade, according to the company’s website.

Imperial rose two per cent to $47.78 at the close in Toronto.