Topic: How To Invest

Imperial Oil $55.04 – Toronto symbol IMO

IMPERIAL OIL $55.04 (Toronto symbol IMO; SI Rating: Average) is Canada’s largest integrated oil company. Imperial also operates 2,000 retail gas stations under the “Esso” banner. ExxonMobil Corp. owns 69.6% of Imperial’s stock.

In the three months ended March 31, 2008, earnings per share fell 6.2%, to $0.75 from $0.81, due to problems at its Edmonton refinery. Imperial is now expanding its four refineries to handle rising oil sands output. Revenues rose 22.4%, to $7.3 billion from $5.9 billion.

Imperial’s cash flow fell 15.1%, to $786 million from $926 million in the latest quarter. Cash flow per share fell just 10.3%, to $0.87 from $0.97, due to continued aggressive stock buybacks. The company bought back $590 million of its stock in the latest quarter.

Production is set to make a bigger contribution, thanks to Imperial’s new oil sands projects. That increases Imperial’s risk, but it should improve its profits in the long term. The outlook for Imperial’s refining business is strong as well, partly due to a shortage of competition. That’s mainly because new refineries face huge environmental and political opposition, particularly in rapidly expanding urban areas.

The price of oil has been going up since the start of the year and may keep rising. But if it drops, Imperial’s refining profits could expand overnight, since gasoline will take longer to fall than oil.

Imperial Oil is a safety-conscious buy.

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