The largest energy company by market value, Suncor Energy Inc announced that it would buy back nearly Can$2 billion or US$1.98 billion worth of shares. It would also be boosting its dividends after it had pulled out of the Voyageur oil project.
Suncor had announced a quarterly dividend worth 54% or US$0.20 per share. The company expects to boost the dividend to US$0.15 in projections according to Bloomberg. Suncor has returned Can$2.5 billion to its shareholders since September 2011 through share repurchase programs.
CEO Steve Williams has been undertaking a cost-cutting program through the delay or outright stoppage of projects, including the Voyageur upgrader. The project, should it had pushed through, would have converted heavy bitumen to a synthetic light crude but had to be shut down because of rising competition from US oil sources.
The decision to stop Voyageur project was a 'positive signal management is placing greater scrutiny on shareholder returns and free cash visibility is enhanced over coming years,' according analysts at Macquarie Capital Markets last March 28.
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