TotalEnergies 1Q Profit Rose on High Energy Prices, Takes $4.1 Billion Charge Over Arctic LNG 2 Project

By Giulia Petroni

TotalEnergies SE on Thursday said that profit rose in the first quarter on soaring oil-and-gas prices but recorded a $4.1-billion impairment charge over a liquefied natural gas project under development in the Russian Arctic.

The French energy major said that quarterly net profit came in at $4.94 billion, up from $3.34 billion for the same period last year. On an adjusted basis, net profit was $8.98 billion, above a FactSet-compiled consensus that had the figure at $8.07 billion.

TotalEnergies' hydrocarbon production was 2.84 million barrels of oil equivalent a day in the quarter, down 1% on year, while sales increased to $68.61 billion from $43.74 billion for the year-earlier period.

Late on Wednesday, the oil major said the $4.1 billion writedown was tied to Arctic LNG 2 as the company will longer count on anticipated reserves from the project following Western sanctions against Russia.

The company said it is planning additional investments to support short-term gas production in the North Sea in the context of high and volatile gas prices across Europe and Asia. It also said it anticipates its average LNG selling price above $14/Mbtu in the second quarter.

The first interim dividend for 2022 was set at 69 European cents ($0.73), which represents a 5% increase on the previous year, TotalEnergies said. The company was authorized by the board to buyback up to $3 billion of its own shares in the first half of the year.

Write to Giulia Petroni at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 28, 2022 03:07 ET (07:07 GMT)

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