TotalEnergies SE stuck to plans for shareholder payouts and capital spending even as second-quarter profit missed estimates.
(Bloomberg) — TotalEnergies SE stuck to plans for shareholder payouts and capital spending even as second-quarter profit missed estimates.
Oil and gas companies have seen earnings retreat from last year’s highs as the market chaos unleashed by Russia’s war in Ukraine eased, pulling prices down. Yet they’re still channeling generous sums to shareholders in a bid to keep them on side as some investors retreat from fossil fuels.
Total’s adjusted net income fell to $4.96 billion in the second quarter, down 49% from a year earlier, the company said in a statement on Thursday. That missed the average analyst estimate of $5.34 billion.
Total is boosting investment in renewable energy and gas projects while cutting exposure to petroleum with sales of Canadian oil-sands assets and some of its European service stations.
The company, which bought back $2 billion of its shares in the first and second quarters, plans to repurchase the same amount in the third. It announced an interim dividend of €0.74 a share.
As Total pursues the divestment of its Canadian oil business, the company will allocate at least 40% of cash flow from operations this year to shareholders — the high end of a previously announced range, it reiterated Thursday.Â
The oil major maintained its plan for $16 billion to $18 billion of capital expenditure this year, including $5 billion in low-carbon energies such as wind, solar and biomethane.
European competitor Shell Plc also reported quarterly results on Thursday.
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