Imperial Oil profit rises on strong refining margins

Imperial Oil Ltd. (IMO-T), Canada's No. 2 oil producer and refiner, said its first-quarter profit rose 30 percent primarily due to strong refining margins.

Net income rose to $1.02 billion, or $1.19 per share, from $781 million, or 91 cents, a year earlier.

Profit from the downstream segment rose by $179 million to $455 million, the company said in a statement.

Imperial, majority-owned by Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM-N), operates four Canadian refineries and produces oil from the Cold Lake oilsands project as well as from its 25-percent share of the Syncrude Canada Ltd oil sands project.

The company's $10.9-billion, 110,000 barrel per day Kearl oil sands project is slated to open by year-end.

Imperial's cash flow from operations, a key indicator of the company's ability to pay for new projects and drilling, rose 9 percent to $1.05 billion.

The company's gross production fell 7 percent to 289,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day due to divestment of natural gas assets.