Cost cutting sets them up for a rebound

Article Excerpt

IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $41 (Toronto symbol IMO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Shares outstanding: 847.6 million; Market cap: $34.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.imperialoil.ca) is Canada’s second-largest integrated oil producer after Suncor. The company’s Alberta oil sands operations, including its 25% stake in the Syncrude project, supply 90% of its crude. Imperial also has conventional oil and gas operations in Western Canada, and invests in offshore projects in Atlantic Canada. In addition, it owns three refineries and makes petrochemicals. In March 2016, Imperial agreed to sell its 497 company-owned Esso gas stations to independent operators for $2.8 billion. Imperial expects to complete these sales by the end of 2016. At that time, franchisees will operate all 1,700 Esso stations across Canada. In the quarter ended March 31, 2016, the company produced an average of 421,000 barrels of oil equivalent (95% oil, 5% natural gas), up 26.4% from 333,000 a year earlier. The increase came…