The Financial Post reports in its Friday, May 9, edition that Cenovus Energy elevated its dividend as it reported a first quarter profit of $859-million, down from $1.18-billion a year ago. A Canadian Press dispatch to the Post reports that the oil sands company says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 20 cents per share, up from 18 cents per share. The increased payment came as Cenovus says its profit amounted to 47 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, down from 62 cents per diluted share a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter amounted to $13.3-billion, up from $13.06-billion a year earlier. Total upstream production for the quarter was 818,900 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up from 800,900 boe/d in the same quarter last year. Total downstream crude throughput was 665,400 barrels per day, up from 655,200 bpd a year earlier. Chief financial officer Kam Sandhar said: "With the value we see in our shares today and with the capital investment decreasing as we complete our major projects, we see a significant opportunity to increase our returns to shareholders through buybacks going forward and continuing to ensure our balance sheet remains strong."