Suncor Stock Price Rises on $2.1 Billion Q1 Earnings
Suncor stock price was in focus after Suncor Energy Inc. reported $2.1-billion in first-quarter earnings and turned Montreal jet fuel into an export business. The refinery, which began refining jet fuel in December, sent product to the Caribbean, the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Rotterdam, giving the company a new sales path beyond local airports.
Montreal refinery adds export lanes
$2.1-billion in first-quarter earnings came as the Montreal refinery moved beyond the domestic market after Suncor initially expected to sell most of that fuel to local airports and maybe send a small amount to Ottawa. The shift came after the U.S. and Israel bombed Iran on Feb. 28, when global fuel flows tightened and overseas buyers were willing to pay up.
45 countries now make up Suncor’s reach, up from roughly 20 countries in recent years. That wider commercial footprint let the company place diesel and jet fuel in the Philippines and Puerto Rico in March and then land its first European cargo from Montreal into Rotterdam last week.
Little on logistics payoff
US$109.76 a barrel for Brent and US$66.96 a barrel for Western Canadian Select helped lift the quarter, and oil prices averaged just over US$126 a barrel on some measures tied to the period. Suncor’s first-quarter results were also helped by a dearth of global supplies, while the Strait of Hormuz remained all but closed at the time described.
Troy Little said the commercial setup was years in the making. “We have spent years building up the logistics and commercial capabilities to act on opportunities just like these, and that investment paid off meaningfully this past quarter.”
Kruger sees the rollout continue
Rich Kruger said the company’s higher sales volumes fit a broader plan that is still unfolding. “This is a strategy that continues to develop and unfold, and, with it, you’re seeing the higher sales volumes,” he said, a sign that the Montreal refinery’s output may keep finding buyers outside Canada if the pricing stays there.
24 per cent was the share of production tied to one part of the business, 50 per cent marked another, and 68 per cent and 82 per cent were other operating metrics the company put beside the quarter’s earnings. The more important point for trading desks is that Suncor did not just post a higher profit; it also showed it can move fuel into markets that were not part of the original Montreal plan.
