Imperial Oil Sees Share Increase

Imperial Oil, the Canadian energy company, exceeded expectations with its fourth-quarter production and announced a 20% increase to its quarterly dividend, leading to a positive market response.

Share Performance

Imperial Oil's shares saw a 2.9% increase to C$78.80 in morning trading, outperforming Toronto's benchmark S&P/TSX index, which experienced a 0.7% decline. In New York, the stock was 2.5% stronger at $58.61.

Production Results

Imperial Oil's upstream production in the final three months of last year averaged 452,000 gross oil-equivalent barrels per day. This is an improvement compared to the previous year's average of 441,000 barrels per day and surpassed market expectations of 441,200 barrels.

Financial Performance

Although net income fell from C$1.73 billion to C$1.37 billion compared to the previous year, revenue was down 9.3% at C$13.11 billion, exceeding the mean forecast of C$13.09 billion by analysts polled by FactSet.

Dividend Increase

Imperial Oil also announced an increase in its dividend for the first quarter of this year to C$0.60, equivalent to $2.40 annually. This move represents an annual yield of approximately 3.1% based on Thursday's closing price.