PARIS: Total is set to increase its target for $4 billion of cost savings by 2018 in the light of its planned acquisition of Maersk Oil, Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said on Monday.
Overlap between the UK operations of the two companies means some jobs could be at risk there, he added.
Total has offered to buy the oil and gas business of Denmark’s A.P. Moller Maersk in a $7.45 billion deal which the French energy major said would strengthen its operations in the North Sea and boost earnings and cash flow.
Total said the deal was expected to generate operational, commercial and financial synergies of more than $400 million per year, in particular by combining assets in the North Sea.
“At least $200 million are costs synergies, so we target cutting costs by $200 million out of this combination on top of what Total has already done, and it will be a part of our new target for cost savings,” Pouyanne told journalists.
Total previously planned to cut costs by $4 billion by the end of 2018, adjusting to lower oil prices.
“By mid September we will revise this target, we will upgrade the target,” he said. The company will hold an investor day in September.
Pouyanne said the North Sea was one of the areas where the company would have to go further in cost savings to remain competitive, and the Maersk Oil deal offers it the opportunity to do so.
Maersk lost a long-standing agreement to operate Al-Shaheen in Qatar to Total last year, but is according to media reports in talks with Iran to develop the oil layer of the South Pars field, which is an extension of the Qatari field.
Total last month signed a major deal with Iran to develop the gas part of South Pars.
Total also said it was investing $3.5 billion over five years in Qatar's offshore Al Shaheen oilfield.
Total set to raise cost savings target after Maersk Oil deal
Total set to raise cost savings target after Maersk Oil deal
Closing Bell: Saudi main market sheds 85 points to finish at 11,098
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index closed lower in the latest session, falling 85.79 points, or 0.77 percent, to finish at 11,098.06.
The MSCI Tadawul 30 Index declined 0.63 percent to close at 1,495.23, while the parallel market index Nomu dropped 0.91 percent to 23,548.56.
Market breadth was firmly negative, with 42 gainers against 218 decliners on the main market. Trading activity saw 226 million shares exchanged, with total turnover reaching SR4.5 billion ($1.19 billion).
Among the session’s gainers, Tourism Enterprise Co. rose 9.40 percent to SR15.02. SHL Finance Co. advanced 4.51 percent to SR16.00, while Almasar Alshamil for Education Co. gained 3.56 percent to SR23.88.
Dar Alarkan Real Estate Development Co. added 3.03 percent to SR19.70, and Banque Saudi Fransi climbed 2.61 percent to SR19.30.
On the losing side, Almasane Alkobra Mining Co. recorded the steepest decline, falling 6.61 percent to SR96.
Al Moammar Information Systems Co. dropped 5.14 percent to SR164.20, while National Company for Learning and Education declined 4.60 percent to SR124.30. Saudi Ceramic Co. slipped 4.14 percent to SR27.30, and Arabian Contracting Services Co. fell 4.12 percent to SR116.50.
On the announcement front, Saudi Telecom Co. announced the distribution of interim cash dividends for the fourth quarter of 2025 in line with its approved dividend policy.
The company will distribute SR2.74 billion, equivalent to SR0.55 per share, to shareholders for the quarter.
The number of shares eligible for dividends stands at approximately 4.99 billion shares. The eligibility date has been set for Feb. 23, with distribution scheduled for March 12.
The company noted that treasury shares are not entitled to dividends and that payments will be made through Riyad Bank via direct transfer to shareholders’ bank accounts. stc shares last traded at SR44.80, unchanged on the session.
Separately, National Environmental Recycling Co., known as Tadweer, reported its annual financial results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, posting significant growth in revenue and profit.
Revenue rose 53.5 percent year on year to SR1.24 billion, compared with SR806 million in the previous year. Net profit attributable to shareholders increased 68.4 percent to SR60.9 million, up from SR36.2 million a year earlier, driven by higher sales volumes and operational expansion.
Tadweer shares last traded at SR3.80, up 2.70 percent.
