Cenovus reports $118M first-quarter loss

Cenovus Energy Inc.reported a first-quarter loss of $118 million as it said its cost-cutting plan was on track.

The Calgary-basedcompany said Tuesday the loss amounted to 14 cents per diluted share for the three months that ended March 31 compared with a loss of $668 million or 86 cents per share a year ago.

The improvement was due in large part to unrealized foreign-exchange gains of $413 million offset in part by a $170 million asset impairment charge. That compared with unrealized foreign exchange losses of $514 million a year ago.

Cenovus says it had an operating loss of the quarter of $423 million or 51 cents per share compared with an operating loss of $88 million or 11 cents per share a year ago.

Revenue totalled nearly $2.25 billion after royalties, down from $3.14 billion in the same quarter last year.

During the quarter, the company produced an average of 197,551 barrels of oil per day, down from 218,020 a year ago.

Cenovus has been slashing costs and jobs to deal with the drop in oil prices last year.

The company says it has largely completed the job cuts announced last year, with its staff down 31 per cent compared with the end of 2014.

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