CALGARY — Canadian Natural Resources is reporting $245 million of net income for the first quarter, a big improvement from the loss it experienced at the same time last year but less than analysts expected.
The profit amounted to 22 cents per share for the Calgary-based oil and gas company (TSX:CNQ).
CNRL’s adjusted earnings were $277 million or 25 cents per share — two cents below analyst estimates.
Analysts had also estimated 34 cents per share of net income, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Revenue after royalty payments was above estimates at $3.64 billion, up from $2.18 billion in the first quarter of 2016 — when oil prices were near 13-year lows.
In last year’s first quarter, Canadian Natural had a net loss of $105 million and adjusted loss of $543 million.
The company is active in the Alberta oilsands and elsewhere in Canada as well as the offshore fields in the U.K. North Sea.