Globe says Cdn Nat hikes payout, plans share buyback
2017-03-03 07:15 ET - In the News
The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Canadian Natural Resources posted net earnings for the fourth quarter of $566-million or 51 cents a share versus a year-ago profit of $131-million or 12 cents. The Globe's Jeff Lewis writes that Canadian Natural generated $1-billion in free cash flow after capital expenses and dividends in the fourth quarter. Its cash flow is targeted to exceed capital expenditures by about $230-million per month in the first quarter of 2017 due to higher production and lower costs. As a result, it bumped its quarterly payout by 10 per cent to 27.5 cents per share and signalled it would purchase up to 2.5 per cent of the company's common shares this year via a normal-course issuer bid. Barclays analyst Thomas Driscoll says, "The dividend increase signifies the company's confidence in its free cash flow potential as Horizon comes on-line and costs decline." The move follows expansions at Canadian Natural's Horizon bitumen mine and shows that for the largest companies, the risks of expanding through the oil-price slump are beginning to pay off. CNRL says production of synthetic crude oil at Horizon averaged 178,063 barrels per day in the three months ended Dec. 31.