OMV AG, the Austrian oil and gas company, recorded a 20% increase in net profit in the first quarter, despite a decline in revenues due to lower gas prices. The company announced on Tuesday that net profit for the quarter was 468 million euros, compared to 390 million euros in the same period last year.

Revenue fell to 8.17 billion euros, after having amounted to 10.96 billion euros in the comparable quarter of the previous year. Despite the decline, the adjusted operating result at current cost of supplies - a metric preferred by OMV and comparable with the net income reported by US oil companies - exceeded expectations at 1.48 billion euros. Analysts had expected, according to a consensus from the company's website based on estimates from 18 analysts, 1.29 billion euros.

Production fell by 24,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to 352,500 barrels in the quarter, while production costs rose by 3% to $9.6 per barrel of oil equivalent. OMV stated that lower contributions from the fuels and raw materials as well as energy sector contributed to the result, while the performance in the chemicals and materials sector improved.

For the full year 2024, OMV expects a total hydrocarbon production between 330,000 and 350,000 barrels per day. The company reaffirmed its production forecast and remains confident despite the current challenges in the energy market.