Petro Canada Q2 profits nearly double last year's take

The crooks... I mean Petro Canada reported their 2nd quarter earnings today. In Q2 last year, profits totalled $472 million. This year, the profits earned in the same three month period soared to $845 million. It won't be long before the benchmark will be $3 billion in annual profits or the year will be deemed a dismal failure. Any bets if that'll happen in 2009? 2008? This year?

How did the head crook... I mean Petro Canada CEO Ron Brenneman explain the earnings surge? According to a CBC News report, he cited "a strong integrated portfolio, solid operations and a robust business environment." That must be business slang for "sucking more people into our stations and screwing them at the pump".

I don't get it - crude oil is nearing its all-time high price today and yet we're paying less than a dollar per litre. Don't get me wrong - I'm loving the "bargain price" of 93.9 cents per litre... but it wasn't so long ago that we were told that the reason we were paying $1.10 or $1.20 a litre was due to high crude prices and the expenses associated with getting the raw materials to refineries. If that's the case, why aren't we still paying record prices at the pump?

Again - I'm not complaining.

The thing is, it's hard to understand what makes the petroleum industry tick. It wasn't so long ago margins went way up because Imperial Oil had a little fire in southern Ontario. Other companies saw an opportunity and seized it. Good on them, shareholders would say, but the poor consumer at the end of the "food chain" took it across the chops for several weeks each time he or she filled up.

Somewhat lower prices at the pump are a recent phenomenon - it will be interesting to see how the next two Petro Canada earnings report go. If profits are down for some unknown reason, it will be pretty easy to see that they only made $600 million in profit because the pump prices weren't as "solid" or "robust" in July and (hopefully!) August.

There's nothing we can do about it, I know. Not everyone can afford to "offset the pump price shock" by buying thousands of petroleum company shares. Maybe there's something to the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

Got a job for me, Petro Canada? Esso? Anyone?