CALGARY – Despite earning more and more cash, oilsands companies are conscious of investor apathy to their businesses and vowing to continue being conservative with their money.
Despite the improved financial results, hundreds of millions of dollars in income tax recovery from lower Alberta corporate tax rates and an uptick in oil prices Thursday shares in Cenovus, its competitors at Suncor Energy Inc. and Husky Energy Inc., all fell. Until more pipelines are built to take oil out of Alberta, however, Pourbaix said that Cenovus would be disciplined with the cash it’s generating and not commission new oilsands growth projects.
Husky also reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday, as higher Canadian crude prices following Alberta government’s cuts more than offset the company’s lower production and weak refining margins.