April 24 (Reuters) - Cenovus Energy CVE.TO reported a first-quarter profit on Wednesday, compared with a year-ago loss, as it benefited from higher Canadian crude prices.
Earlier this year, Alberta's government called for temporary oil production cuts in the province to boost sagging prices of Canadian crude due to pipeline bottlenecks that led to an oversupply.
Cenovus is the first of Canada's major crude producers to report results for the quarter, a period in which mandatory curtailments by the Alberta provincial government took effect.
The company's net income rose to C$110 million ($81.79 million), or 9 Canadian cents per share, from a loss of C$914 million, or 74 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier. production fell to 447,270 barrels of oil equivalent per day from 487,464 boe/d in the quarter ended March 31.
Cenovus managed its first-quarter oil sands production to comply with Alberta's mandatory curtailment program, producing about 343,000 barrels per day.
($1 = 1.3449 Canadian dollars)