PARIS: Record output and high oil prices helped French oil and gas major Total report a consensus-beating rise in net adjusted profit during the first three months of the year, with Total adding it would surpass its production target for 2018.
Total’s earnings echoed a similarly robust set of results from Royal Dutch Shell which also posted higher Q1 profits on Thursday.
Total produced 2.703 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) in the first quarter, driven by ramp-ups and new acquisitions, up more than 5 percent compared to the same period in 2017, and above analysts’ estimates of 2.663 million boe/d.
It said the ramp-up of production from new projects such as Yamal LNG in Russia and Moho Nord in Congo, along with newly acquired assets, including Maersk Oil and Al-Shaheen in Qatar, had enabled it to reach record production during the quarter.
It marked Total’s highest output ever recorded in a quarter, surpassing a previous record of 2.66 million boe/d in 2003.
Net adjusted profit came in at $2.9 billion, beating analysts’ forecast of $2.77 billion in the quarter.
“Oil prices continued to rebound in the first quarter 2018,” said Total’s Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne in a statement.
“Brent rose to an average of $67 per barrel, supported by strong demand, OPEC-non-OPEC compliance and geopolitical tensions,” he also said.
“Cash flow after organic investments increased to $2.8 billion, up by more than 50 percent from a year ago, thanks to good operational performance and continued spending discipline,” added Pouyanne.
Total said it expected to exceed its 6 percent production target for 2018 thanks to the start-ups and ramp-ups of new projects, such as Kashagan in Kazakhstan, Kaombo in Angola and Ichthys in Australia, later in the year.
It said this would support its target of 5 percent per year on average output growth between 2016 and 2022, even though Total noted that the global environment remained volatile with persistent uncertainty around the evolution of global supply.
Total also said it would continue to exercise discipline on its cost base.
It maintained 2018 investments at $15-$17 billion, with an operating expense target of $5.5 per barrel of oil equivalent. It said cost reduction plans were ongoing, with an objective of over $4 billion in 2018.
Total said it will raise first quarter interim dividend by 3.2 percent, while Scrip shares issued in January for the second 2017 interim dividend were bought back to prevent dilution.
“In addition, the group bought back a further $300 million of shares to return to shareholders part of the benefit realized from higher oil prices,” Pouyanne said.
The company said in February that it planned to buy back up to $5 billion of stock over 2018-2020 to share the benefits of higher oil prices with investors.
French oil major Total’s Q1 profits lifted by record production
French oil major Total’s Q1 profits lifted by record production
- Net adjusted profit came in at $2.9 billion, beating analysts’ forecast of $2.77 billion in the quarter
- Total expects to exceed its 6 percent production target for 2018
Saudi Arabia’s industrial production jumps 10.4% in January: GASTAT
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s industrial production index rose to 115 in January, up 10.4 percent from a year earlier, driven by higher crude output and stronger mining activity, official data showed.
The latest report released by the General Authority for Statistics showed that the annual surge was primarily fueled by a 13.3 percent jump in the mining and quarrying sub-index, which includes oil production.
Saudi Arabia raised crude oil output to 10.1 million barrels per day in January from 8.9 million barrels per day a year earlier, supporting growth in the mining and quarrying sub-index and contributing to the broader expansion in industrial activity.
The latest IPI figures underscore continued momentum in the Kingdom’s industrial sector as Saudi Arabia pursues economic diversification under its Vision 2030 agenda.
The manufacturing sector, a key pillar of the Kingdom’s economic diversification efforts, also contributed positively to the annual growth. The manufacturing sub-index rose by 6.8 percent compared to January of the previous year.
This was underpinned by strong performances in the manufacture of chemicals and chemical products, which grew by 10.6 percent, and the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products, which increased by 9.1 percent. The food products industry also saw an annual growth of 9.1 percent.
The water supply, sewerage, and waste management activities recorded the highest annual growth among the major sectors, increasing by 11.7 percent.
Despite the strong year-on-year performance, the IPI showed a slight contraction on a monthly basis, decreasing by 0.5 percent compared to December 2025. This decline was driven by a 1.4 percent drop in the manufacturing sub-index from the previous month.
The monthly downturn in manufacturing was largely attributed to decreases in the same sectors that fueled its annual growth, with coke and petroleum products down 1.1 percent and chemicals down 1.2 percent.
A breakdown by main economic activities shows that the index for oil activities jumped 12.5 percent annually, while non-oil activities also posted a healthy gain of 5.3 percent.
On a monthly basis, both indices saw minor declines, with oil activities dipping 0.1 percent and non-oil activities falling by 1.5 percent.
The electricity, gas, and air conditioning supply sub-index was the only major sector to record an annual decrease, falling by 1.3 percent compared to January 2025.
