Canadian Oil Sands Trust falls in quarter

Third-quarter profit at Canadian Oil Sands Trust retreated 31% as oil production fell and costs climbed, the company said today.

Canadian Oil Sands earned C$171 million ($168 million), or 35 Canadian cents per unit, down from a year-earlier C$247 million, or 51 Canadian cents, in the third-quarter of last year.

The company had been expected to earn 21 Canadian cents a share, the average estimate among analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Cash from operations, from which the trust pays distributions to unitholders, rose 55% to C$330 million, or 68 Canadian cents per unit, from C$213 million, or 44 Canadian cents per unit, as lower revenues and higher operating costs were more than offset by a reduction in non-cash working capital, the trust said.

Canadian Oil Sands has a 37% stake in Syncrude, one of Canada's largest oil sands miners and processors. jaw crusher

It said its results were hindered by lower production at the Syncrude Canada oil sands project, as planned and unplanned maintenance work cut output from the project's upgraders.

In September, the trust cut its target for annual Syncrude production by 4.6% to 105 million barrels due to a longer than planned shutdown of one of the coker units at its upgrading plant.

Canadian Oil Sands said it expects the operation to run about 19% below capacity for the rest of the year as other equipment is down for maintenance.

During the third quarter, production averaged 96,000 barrels per day, down 17% from the same period last year.

Operating costs were C$39.99 per barrel, up 44%.

Canadian Oil Sands units rose 21 Canadian cents to C$26.69 on the Toronto Stock Exchange today.