CALGARY — Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. says its acquisition strategy is focused on cash flow as it closed multiple purchases in recent months and reported profits rose in the second quarter.
Chief executive Scott Stauth says its recent acquisitions add about 82,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of production, while also adding potential for efficiencies between projects and most importantly add additional cash generation.
"They add cash flow for us immediately. I think that's really important when you look at returns to shareholders, these assets do bring significant cash flow."
"We're not buying something just to grow, we're buying something that adds cash flow, that adds inventory for development programs, and ultimately adds additional value for our shareholders."
Along with recent acquisitions, Canadian Natural has also this year carried out an asset swap with Shell plc that saw Canadian Natural secure full control of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project, while last year it reached a US$6.5 billion deal to buy Chevron's stake in the Athabasca project as well as holdings in the Duvernay Shale.
The acquisitions, along with better pricing for Canadian crude, helped lead the company to a second-quarter profit of $2.46 billion, up from $1.72 billion a year ago.
The company says the profit amounted to $1.17 per diluted share for the quarter ended June 30 compared with 80 cents per diluted share a year ago.
On an adjusted basis, Canadian Natural says it earned 71 cents per diluted share from operations in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 88 cents per diluted share in the same quarter last year.
The mean analyst estimate had been for earnings of 65 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
Canadian Natural said the company benefited from a narrower spread between western Canadian crude prices and WTI prices thanks to the opening of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in the second quarter last year.
It says the differential was US$10.19 per barrel in the second quarter, down US$2.47 per barrel from the first quarter, and down US$3.35 per barrel from the second quarter last year.
Revenue was $8.7 billion in the quarter, compared with $9.1 billion a year ago.
Production in the quarter averaged the equivalent of 1.42 million barrels of oil per day, up from 1.29 million boe/d in the same quarter last year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX:CNQ)
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