One of Canada’s biggest oil and gas companies, Cenovus Energy NYSE CVE, booked higher-than-expected earnings for the first quarter of 2024 amid strong oil and gas production and record throughput volumes at its refineries. Cenovus reported on Wednesday nearly doubled earnings per share of $0.45 C$0.62 for Q1 2024 compared to the same period of 2023. The earnings were higher than the average analyst estimate of $0.39 C$0.54, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters.
“Throughput in the quarter increased primarily due to improved operating performance and availability across the company's operated and non-operated refining assets, in addition to lower levels of planned maintenance when compared with the prior quarter,” Cenovus said. The company also boosted first-quarter earnings thanks to a higher operating margin and a gain on asset divestitures in the first quarter of 2024.