CALGARY — Cenovus Energy Inc. tripled its dividend as it reported a first-quarter profit of $1.6 billion.

The company says its base dividend will increase to 42 cents per share a year, up from 14 cents per share a year, and will continue to be declared and paid quarterly.

Cenovus says it will also return cash to shareholders though share buybacks and or variable dividends depending on its excess free funds and the level of its debt.

The increased payments to shareholders came as the company said it earned 81 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31 compared with a profit of $220 million or 10 cents per share in the first quarter of 2021. Revenue totalled $16.2 billion, up from $9.3 billion in the same quarter last year.

Total upstream production for the quarter was 798,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up from 769,300 a year earlier, while downstream throughput was 501,800 barrels per day, compared with 469,100 in the first quarter of 2021.

In its guidance, the company raised its expected capital spending for 2022 by $300 million to a range of $2.9 billion to $3.3 billion due to increased costs at its Superior Refinery rebuild.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2022.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CVE)

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