Imperial Oil Q1 Profit Declines, Hikes Dividend - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Imperial Oil Ltd. (IMO, IMO.TO) on Friday reported a decline in profit for the first quarter from last year despite higher revenues. Earnings per share missed analysts' expectations, while revenues beat their estimates. In addition, the company increased its quarterly dividend.

The company's net income for the first quarter was C$293 million or C$0.38 per share, down from C$516 million or C$0.62 per share in the year-ago period.

However, total revenues and other income for the quarter increased to C$7.98 billion from C$7.93 billion in the year-ago period.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of C$0.47 per share for the quarter on revenues of C$7.57 billion. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

First-quarter production averaged 388,000 gross oil-equivalent barrels per day, up from 370,000 barrels per day in the same period of 2018.

Imperial Oil also said it declared a second quarter dividend of 22 cents per share, an increase of 3 cents per share from the first quarter, supported by the company's strong balance sheet and resilient cash flow.

Imperial said it remains committed to returning cash to shareholders through the payment of dividends and an ongoing share purchase program.