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Poster and logo on the Coupole Tower, compagny Total’s head office renamed TotalEnergies in 2021 in the La Defense business district west of Paris in Courbevoie, France on 7 June 2024.
Antoine Boureau | Afp | Getty Images
French oil major TotalEnergies on Wednesday reported a sharp drop in full-year earnings, against a backdrop of lower crude prices and weak fuel demand.
The oil and gas giant posted full-year 2024 adjusted net income of $18.3 billion, reflecting a 21% fall from $23.2 billion a year earlier.
Analysts had expected TotalEnergies’ full-year 2024 adjusted net income to come in at $18.2 billion, according to an LSEG-compiled consensus.
The energy major reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter adjusted net income of $4.4 billion, an 8% increase on the previous quarter.
TotalEnergies said it was able to close out the year on a positive note thanks to a strong performance in integrated liquefied natural gas and integrated power.
The results buck a trend of consecutive quarterly losses. TotalEnergies’ adjusted net income had dropped for five straight quarters to notch a three-year low in September last year.
Other earnings highlights:
- TotalEnergies’ full-year net income came in at $15.8 billion, down from $21.4 billion a year earlier.
- The company announced a 7% increase in the 2024 dividend to 3.22 euros ($3.35) per share.
In a trading update published last month, TotalEnergies said its fourth-quarter results would likely benefit from a slight increase in hydrocarbon production, stronger gas trading and a modest increase in refining margins.
TotalEnergies announced a 7% increase in the 2024 dividend to 3.22 euros ($3.35) per share and said it will target $2 billion of share buybacks per quarter in 2025.
The company said it expects higher gas prices and robust hydrocarbon production in the first three months of 2025.
Maurizio Carulli, energy and materials analyst at Quilter Cheviot, said TotalEnergies’ fourth-quarter results should lift investor sentiment after a weak third-quarter.
“The company has an attractive long-term growth profile, backed by a strong pipeline of projects. It is also seeing significant growth in its renewable energy sector, where it expects above-average returns thanks to its integrated trading capabilities,” Carulli said.
Paris-listed shares of TotalEnergies closed 1.7% higher.
Faltering demand
The world’s top oil and gas companies have seen profits fall from record levels in 2022, when Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine prompted international benchmark Brent crude to jump to nearly $140 per barrel.
Oil prices have since cooled amid faltering global demand, with Brent crude futures averaging $80 per barrel in 2024 — about $2 per barrel less than during the previous year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Energy giants have reported mixed fourth-quarter and full-year results amid weaker refining margins and lower crude prices.
U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil beat Wall Street’s estimate for fourth-quarter profit last week, while U.S. oil producer Chevron and Britain’s Shell both missed analyst forecasts.
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