Suncor, Post-Merger, Posts 14% Profit Hike

CALGARY (TheStreet) -- Suncor Energy(SU), Canada's largest oil company, posted a 14% increase in profits in the first quarter since its merger in August with PetroCanada.

Suncor posted earnings of C$929 ($872) for the quarter, or C$0.74 a share, up from C$815 million, or C$0.87 a share, in the prior year. These improvements came despite the drop in the price of crude during the quarter.

The improvements were reaped primarily on the back of increased productivity in the wake of the merger of Suncor and Petro-Canada, which Suncor purchased on Aug. 1 for C$19.2 billion. The merger constituted the the biggest Canadian energy takeover ever.

According to Suncor, the merger will save more than C$1 billion in capital costs and C$300 million in operational expenditures annually. Suncor's operating earnings fell 64 percent to C$288 million; cash flow from operations dropped 50 percent to C$574 million.

Shares in Suncor have risen by 49 percent so far this year. The report was released Friday before the market open; soon after its release, shares were trading in the aftermarket at $32.88, or a decrease of 0.8% from Thursday's closing price.

-- Written by Ty Wenger in New York

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