Suncor Energy Profits Rise More Than A Third On Higher Output

Suncor Energy has said that second quarter profits rose by more than a third, beating analyst expectations, as the world's second largest miner of oil sands benefited from falling costs and rising output levels.

Net income was between C$210 million and C$220 million ($138 million and $145 million), the company said in a statement. That is approximately 49 cents a share, based on 448 million outstanding. It earned 34.5 cents a share, after adjusting for a stock split, in the year ago quarter.

Suncor has almost doubled output in northeastern Alberta, where it extracts and refines oil from sandy deposits, to 208,000 barrels a day. It spent C$3.25 billion to add capacity last year, helping reduce production costs to between C$12.75 and C$13 a barrel from C$17.

“The oil sands area comes with a huge expansion cost, but we've been long-term holders and think it's a great asset,” said Michael Smedley, chief portfolio manager at Morgan Meighen & Associates Ltd. in Toronto, which has C$750 million in assets.

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