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Imperial Oil reports $188M first-quarter loss as price of oil plunges

May 1, 2020 | 6:53 AM

CALGARY – Imperial Oil Ltd. reported a loss of $188 million in its first quarter as oil prices plunged in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company says the loss amounted to 25 cents per diluted share compared with a profit of $293 million or 38 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

The loss for the quarter included $301 million in non-cash charges driven by the drop in oil prices, including $281 million due to a revaluation of inventory and $20 million associated with goodwill impairment.

Revenues and other income totalled $6.69 billion in the quarter, down from $7.98 billion in the first quarter of 2019.

Production in the quarter averaged 419,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up from 388,000 in the same period last year, while refinery throughput averaged 383,000 barrels per day, the same as a year ago.

Imperial cut its 2020 capital spending plan at the end of March by $500 million to between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion and reduced its expenses by $500 million compared with 2019 levels in an effort to deal with impact of the pandemic.