The race to slash and lower costs was the dominant theme in a flurry of earnings from Canadian resource companies this week.

From the likes of Suncor Energy (SU.TO) and Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) in the oil patch, to miners such as Barrick Gold (ABX.TO), Goldcorp (G.TO) and Teck Resources (TCKb.TO), natural resource companies were talking up their appetite to reduce expenses.

“This really becomes a way of life, as far as we’re concerned. You’ve got to be able to compete on a North American basis,” Cenovus CEO Brian Ferguson said about his company's pursuit to reduce costs, in an interview with BNN. “I expect the world is going to continue to see volatility in commodity prices, so we want to make sure we’re competitive… and drive efficiencies.”

According to Ted Goldthorpe, former president and chief investment officer of Apollo Investment Corporation, the cost-cutting measures are happening as many of the corporations have been caught off guard by the long period of low commodity prices.

“The adjustment happened so quickly and the first thing that came down was service costs … [Energy and mining companies] really cut everything they can, so the next level of cost cutting that must occur must be with the corporations themselves,” Goldthorpe said in an interview with BNN. 

“Given we’re in a lower for longer environment and people are becoming more comfortable with that, [energy and mining firms] are making a lot of cuts in their own backyard.”

 

Here’s a look at what some of the Canadian energy and mining companies are saying about their cost-cutting drives:

TECK RESOURCES PRESIDENT AND CEO DON LINDSAY

“Our operations have performed very well throughout the year, setting a number of quarterly and year-to-date production records while continuing to reduce costs.”

CENOVUS ENERGY CEO BRIAN FERGUSON

“While I’m encouraged by the recent increase in oil prices, we remain firmly committed to pursuing additional cost reductions to position us to add shareholder value regardless of the commodity price environment.”

SUNCOR ENERGY CEO STEVE WILLIAMS

"Suncor continues to find ways to reduce costs across the company."

“Our cost reduction efforts combined with safe, reliable operations have delivered the lowest cash costs per barrel at our oil sands operations in over a decade and Syncrude delivered similar improvements.”

BARRICK GOLD

The Toronto-based miner said its profits were lifted by lower fuel and energy costs, smaller exploration and project spending, foreign exchange gains and the sale of higher-cost mines.

GOLDCORP

The miner said more than 60 per cent of targeted $250 million sustainable annual efficiencies have been identified. Goldcorp also said in its earnings release that it’s well underway toward achieving its $250-million target of sustainable annual efficiencies by 2018

 

Here’s a look at how many times the word “cost” shows up in the five big earnings releases:

Barrick – 186

Teck Resources – 178

Goldcorp – 113

Cenovus – 43

Suncor – 28

 

With some firms in Canada’s oil patch saying they are seeking further cost-cutting measures, analysts question whether there is any more fat to trim.

“The good thing is that costs have been coming down at Suncor and [Cenovus],” said Laura Lau, senior vice president and senior portfolio manager at Brompton Funds.

“How much room is there?  I think we’re closer to the end than the beginning.”