Fuel retailer Parkland Corp. says it posted a net loss of $5 million in its first quarter as its financial results took a hit due to an unplanned shutdown at its Burnaby refinery.

The Calgary-headquartered company says that compares to earnings of $77 million a year earlier. 

On an adjusted basis, the company says it earned $327 million, a decrease of 17 per cent compared with the first quarter of 2023.

The unplanned shutdown of Parkland's Burnaby, B.C. refinery began in January due to extreme cold weather and was extended by "technical issues" encountered when the company tried to restart the facility. 

The refinery returned to normal operations on March 29.

Parkland says while the refinery was shut down, the company was able to accelerate maintenance work on the facility that had previously been scheduled for the third quarter of this year. As a result, Parkland said it expects to enhance the Burnaby refinery's utilization and profitability for the remainder of the year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2024.