Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) early Thursday reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, despite a revenue beat on improved production.

The company posted Q4 EPS of $0.07 versus a FactSet estimate of $0.25.

But it also posted Q4 revenue of $15.16 billion, vs. a FactSet est of $14.79 billion.

In the quarter, the company generated over $2.0 billion in cash from operating activities, $1.6 billion of adjusted funds flow and $123 million of free funds flow.

The upstream business remained strong, with production of 816,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/d) in the quarter, including a new quarterly oil sands production record of 628,500 BOE/d. In the Downstream, total crude throughput increased by almost 24,000 barrels per day (bbls/d) from the previous quarter to 666,700 bbls/d, representing an aggregate utilization rate of 93%.

"We delivered strong operating performance this quarter. Our industry leading Oil Sands assets set production records and our Downstream business continued to demonstrate improvements in reliability and unit costs," said President and Chief Executive Jon McKenzie. "In 2025, we will build on this momentum, focusing on operational execution while advancing our key growth projects to deliver long-term value for shareholders."

Cenovus provided details on planned maintenance activities at Cenovus assets in 2025 and anticipated production or throughput impacts.

On growth projects and capital investments, in the Oil Sands segment, the Narrows Lake pipeline, which will connect the field to the Christina Lake processing facility, was mechanically completed in the fourth quarter. Cenovus plans to commence steam injection in the spring and the project remains on track for first oil mid-2025. At Sunrise, production continued to ramp up in the fourth quarter after the company brought two new well pads online in the third quarter. One additional well pad will be added in early 2025. The optimization project at Foster Creek is now 64% complete and remains on schedule for startup in 2026, with most modules and major pieces of equipment in place and pipe installation underway.

In the fourth quarter, the West White Rose project achieved mechanical completion of both the CGS and topsides, and work to prepare the seabed for installation of the CGS at the field location was also completed. The focus of the project in 2025 will be on the installation and commissioning of the platform. The West White Rose project is now approximately 88% complete and progressing on-schedule towards first oil in 2026.