Canadian Natural Resources Shares Up on 4Q Profit Beat, Shareholder Return Plans

By Adriano Marchese

Canadian Natural Resources shares were trading up after it reported higher fourth-quarter profit and said it would target to return all free cash flow to shareholders after reaching debt levels ahead of schedule.

In late morning trading, shares were trading 4.1% higher at 93.63 Canadian dollars ($68.95).

Chief Financial Officer Mark Sainthorpe said that through effective and efficient operations and disciplined capital allocation, the company was able to achieve its net debt level of C$10 billion in the fourth quarter, ahead of forecasts.

"As per our free cash flow allocation policy, we will now target to return 100% of free cash flow to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks," Sainthorpe said.

In the fourth quarter, Canadian Natural reported net earnings of C$2.63 billion, or C$2.41 a share, up from C$1.52 billion or C$1.36 a share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, stripping out one-off and exceptional costs, earnings per share were C$2.34, better than the C$2.15 a share analysts on FactSet forecasted.

The company said that it also approved an increased to its quarterly dividend by 5% to C$1.05.

Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 29, 2024 11:41 ET (16:41 GMT)

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