TotalEnergies Reports Higher-than-Expected Net Profit for First Quarter and Announces Plan to Buy Back $2 Billion in Shares This Quarter.
The French oil and gas conglomerate reported a net profit of $5.72 billion compared to $5.56 billion the previous year and analyst expectations of $4.88 billion, according to a consensus estimate by Visible Alpha. On an adjusted basis, net profit increased by 22% to $5.1 billion, mainly due to lower natural gas prices.
The title in English would be:
"Quarterly sales fell by 2% to $56 billion due to a decrease in hydrocarbon production, while crude oil prices rose but natural gas prices fell. The company had previously expected hydrocarbon production in the first quarter of more than 2.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day."
TotalEnergies, which announced earlier this week its plans to expand its natural gas investments in Malaysia, benefited from growth in liquefied natural gas production as well as from the commencement of operations in Brazil and Nigeria.
In the second quarter, hydrocarbon production is expected to fall to between 2.4 and 2.45 million barrels of oil equivalent per day due to scheduled maintenance work.
The average Brent crude oil prices were $83.2 per barrel for the quarter, an increase of 3% compared to the previous year, while Henry Hub gas prices fell by 22%, according to TotalEnergies.
The heading translates to English as:
"However, the higher prices are putting a strain on the company's previously increased refinery margins."
Refinery Utilization, Which Measures the Ratio of Actual Refinement to Maximum Refinery Capacity, Was 79% in the First Quarter and is Expected to Exceed 85% in the Current Quarter.
In the second quarter, European gas prices have so far been traded in the range of 8 to 10 US dollars per million British Thermal Units. The company expects that prices in the winter of 2024-25 will rise above 11 US dollars per mmBtu.
Adjusted revenues from the upstream business, which accounts for the majority of the company's income, declined by 4% year-on-year, while integrated LNG revenues fell by 41% in the quarter.
The companies confirmed on Friday their plan to invest 5 billion US dollars in the business segment as part of the net investments planned for the year of 17 to 18 billion US dollars.
