Cenovus Energy (NYSE: CVE) reported Q4 EPS of $0.09, $0.11 better than the analyst estimate of ($0.02). Revenue for the quarter came in at $3.3 billion versus the consensus estimate of $3.57 billion.

“We continued to deliver on our commitments to shareholders last year,” said Alex Pourbaix, Cenovus President & Chief Executive Officer. “While running safe and reliable operations, we maintained our industry-leading low cost structure, exercised capital discipline and enhanced shareholder value. And through increased rail capacity, we further improved our market access position, providing greater exposure to global oil pricing.”

“With our low cost structure, continued focus on capital discipline and our diversified transportation portfolio to get more of our product to U.S. markets, we were able to generate very strong free funds flow in 2019,” said Pourbaix. “And we put that cash to good use, further deleveraging our balance sheet and increasing our dividend in the fourth quarter of the year.”

“While mandatory curtailment reduced our overall production volumes in 2019, it helped keep light-heavy oil price differentials from reaching the record highs we saw at the end of 2018, contributing to a significant overall benefit for the province and for our industry,” said Pourbaix. “Compared with 2018, our royalty payments to the province of Alberta increased significantly, more than doubling to $1.1 billion in 2019.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Cenovus Energy (CVE) click here.