UPDATE 2-Cenovus Energy misses profit estimates on lower prices, weak US refining
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Feb 15 (Reuters) - Canadian oil and gas firm Cenovus Energy fell short of analysts' estimates for quarterly profit on Thursday, weighed down by lower commodity prices and refined product pricing in the U.S.
U.S. crude oil prices declined nearly 10.7% in the quarter from a year earlier, when they were supported by disruptions caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Rival Imperial Oil reported a drop in fourth-quarter profit due to lower prices, but surpassed expectations on higher production from its oil sands portfolio.
Cenovus returned C$2.8 billion to shareholders 2023, lower than C$3.4 billion a year earlier.
The company said it expected capital investments of C$4.5-C$5.0 billion in 2025 and beyond.
The oil and gas company reported a net income of 39 Canadian cents per share for the fourth quarter, compared with 40 Canadian cents per share expected by analysts, per LSEG data.
Cenovus said its quarterly upstream production rose to 808,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) from 806,900 boepd a year.
The company reported a downstream throughput of 579,100 barrels per day (bpd), compared with 473,500 bpd a year earlier.
Operating costs per barrel in its oil sands segment fell 13% in the fourth from the prior quarter.
The company saw total operating margins drop about 21.4% from last year on a wider light-heavy differential, while margins in the U.S. were specifically hit by C$430 million in non-cash write-down of refined product and crude oil inventory.
Revenue fell 7.1% to C$13.1 billion, but came above estimate of C$12.8 billion.
($1 = 1.3536 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
