France’s TotalEnergies said Thursday its third-quarter earnings jumped, boosted by higher oil and gas prices, while the energy giant’s LNG sales also improved when compared to the same period last year.
Adjusted net income surged to $4.8 billion from $848 million last year. It also improved 38 percent compared to the previous quarter.
“The global economic recovery, notably in Asia, drove all energy prices sharply higher in the third quarter due to the interconnection of energy systems. Gas prices in Asia and Europe, up more than 85 percent from the previous quarter, reached unprecedented levels, and oil prices gained 7 percent, continuing their steady year-long rise,” chief executive Patrick Pouyanne, said
He said the company’s adjusted net income had benefited from its multi-energy model, and, particularly this quarter, from its position as a “world leader in LNG.”
TotalEnergies generated cash flow of $8.4 billion, up nearly 25 percent compared to the previous quarter, and adjusted EBITDA of $11.2 billion.
“The integrated Gas Renewables & Power (iGRP) segment generated adjusted net income of $1.6 billion and cash flow of $1.7 billion, both new record highs, thanks to an outperformance of its trading activities, which leveraged its integrated worldwide LNG portfolio,” Pouyanne said.
Pouyanne confirmed TotalEnergies’ plans to buy back $1.5 billion worth of shares in the fourth quarter.
LNG sales rise
LNG sales increased 24 percent to 10 million tonnes when compared to the same period last year but they dropped from 10.5 million tonnes in the second quarter.
TotalEnergies said LNG sales increased 7 percent in the January-September period to 30.4 million tonnes.
Also, the company said earlier this month its average price for equity LNG sales in the third quarter reached $9.10/MMBtu, logging a rise when compared to the previous three-month period but also year-on-year.
TotalEnergies expects that 2021 oil price increases would positively impact its average selling LNG price in the next six months, given the lag effect on price formulas.
It anticipates its average LNG price to reach above $12/MMBtu in the fourth quarter.
