Canadian Natural Posts Loss Amid Lower Oil Prices

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. on Thursday posted a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss even as slumping crude-oil prices contributed to a 52% drop in cash flow.

The Calgary, Alberta-based oil and gas producer said production volumes met its guidance in the first three months of the year and operating costs fell, while West Texas Intermediate benchmark prices were at their lowest level for any quarter since the start of 2004.

Canadian Natural reported a net loss of 105 million Canadian dollars (about $82 million), or 10 Canadian cents a share, in its quarter ended March 31. A year earlier, it lost C$252 million, or 23 Canadian cents a share.

Adjusted to exclude certain items, Canadian Natural lost C$543 million, or 50 Canadian cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson

Reuters were expecting a loss of 57 Canadian cents a share.

Cash flow slumped to C$657 million from C$1.37 billion a year earlier, largely due to lower benchmark pricing and lower sales volumes. WTI benchmark prices fell 31% to just over $33 a barrel, it noted.

The company, which has slashed it capital-spending budget several times since early 2015, said its overall operating costs fell 14% from a year earlier. Capital spending in its latest quarter totaled C$1.04 billion, down from C$1.41 billion a year earlier. Its budget for 2016 is estimated at between C$3.5 billion and C$3.9 billion.

Production volumes for the quarter averaged 844,531 barrels of oil equivalent a day, which the company said was in line with fourth-quarter levels and within its previously guided range of between of 829,000 barrels and 860,000 barrels a day.

Write to Judy McKinnon at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 05, 2016 09:55 ET (13:55 GMT)

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