Canadian Oil Sands profit sinks on lower output

CALGARY, Alberta, July 27 (Reuters) - Second-quarter profit at Canadian Oil Sands Ltd, which has the largest stake in Syncrude Canada Ltd, sank 71 percent due to a drop in sales, lower oil prices and higher operating costs.

Canadian Oil Sands, which has a 37 percent stake in the massive Syncrude tar sands mining and synthetic crude operation in northern Alberta, earned C$101 million ($101 million), or 21 Canadian cents a share, down from year-earlier C$346 million, or 71 Canadian cents a share.

The result lagged an average estimate from analysts of 32 Canadian cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Cash flow, a glimpse into the company's ability to fund development and pay out dividends, fell 55 percent to C$245 million, or 51 Canadian cents a share, from C$544 million, or C$1.12 a share.