Quarterly / Earnings Reports | Second Quarter (2Q) Update | Financial Results | Capital Markets

Imperial Reports Q2 2017 Financial Results

Share Print Bookmark    |    Friday,July 28,2017

Imperial recorded an estimated net loss of $77 million in the second quarter of 2017, as compared with a net loss of $181 million in the same period of 2016. The quarterly performance reflects the impacts of the ongoing business environment coupled with upstream outages and planned facility turnarounds. The change relative to the second quarter of 2016 is largely due to higher crude prices and reduced refinery turnaround activity.

In the quarter, Imperial advanced a comprehensive plan to achieve targeted production levels at Kearl. The company is undertaking actions to resolve reliability issues, primarily in the mining and ore preparation areas of the operation. These actions, which are planned to proceed throughout 2017 and 2018, will lead to higher production levels and lower unit costs. Improvements will continue to be implemented in conjunction with scheduled maintenance activities to optimize overall performance.

“Kearl is a high-quality, long-life asset of significant importance to the company,” said Rich Kruger, chairman, president and chief executive officer. “We are addressing gaps in performance by enhancing existing infrastructure while also evaluating additional innovative ideas to improve results.”

In the second quarter, Imperial returned more than $250 million to shareholders through dividends and share purchases. The company reaffirmed its commitment to maximize shareholder value by substantially expanding its share buyback program in late June.

Imperial has a long history of returning value to shareholders through share buybacks. The program was last used to reduce shares outstanding in 2009 when Imperial embarked on an unprecedented period of upstream growth. The recent completion of major growth projects supports the resumption of share purchases.

“Our approach to capital allocation focuses on maintaining a strong balance sheet, paying a reliable and growing dividend and investing in attractive growth opportunities,” Kruger added. “Further increasing our ability to deliver value through an expanded share buyback program allows us to flexibly return surplus cash to shareholders.”

Imperial’s financial flexibility demonstrates the strength and resiliency of its integrated business model over the business cycle.