Feb 1 (Reuters) - Canada's integrated oil company Imperial Oil Ltd IMO.TO on Friday posted a quarterly profit, driven by gains from cheap crude prices at its refining division.
Imperial, majority owned by Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) XOM.N , said its net profit in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 was C$853 million ($649.2 million), or C$1.08 per share. Calgary, Alberta-based company had posted a net loss of C$137 million, or 16 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier, due to a surge in refining and oil production costs.
The company took impairment charges of C$566 million in the year-ago quarter.
($1 = 1.3140 Canadian dollars)