TotalEnergies posts record annual profit at $21.4 billion

TotalEnergies posts record annual profit at $21.4 billion

Highest profit ever for 2023
Highest profit ever for 2023. Photo: Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP
Source: AFP

French group TotalEnergies reported on Wednesday the highest profit of its history for 2023, underpinned by performances in its liquefied natural gas and electricity divisions.

Net profit came in at $21.4 billion, an increase of four percent over 2022.

Its bottom line put the French energy conglomerate ahead of its global peers Shell, BP, Exxon-Mobil and Chevron which all reported lower earnings in the face of weaker energy prices.

But TotalEnergies's 2022 net profit had been weighed down by a huge exceptional charge -- $15 billion -- from its withdrawal from Russia following that country's invasion of Ukraine.

Once non-recurring items were stripped out, profits suffered a sharp downturn last year, with adjusted net profit falling 36 percent to $23.2 billion.

Oil and gas prices dropped some 10 percent on average last year from 2022 when spiking oil prices had boosted earnings at energy companies worldwide.

Read also

BP bags bumper 2023 profits, rewards investors

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find the “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

Chairman Patrick Pouyanne called the results "robust", saying in a statement they had been achieved in "an uncertain environment". Hydrocarbons had performed well, he said.

Still, the 2023 net profit figure fell short of forecasts by financial analysts, who had been looking for a figure of up to $23.7 billion.

The company's share price dropped around 1.5 percent in early Paris stock exchange trading in reaction.

Controversial projects

TotalEnergies has pursued its diversification towards low-carbon electricity production, but continues to be criticised by environmental groups for its ongoing investment in fossil fuels because of their climate impact.

The group announced in September that it would increase hydrocarbon production by an annual two to three percent over five years.

Read also

Toyota raises annual net profit forecast as chip shortage eases

Several court cases against the company are pending, including for its land acquisition practices for controversial projects in Uganda and Tanzania slammed by environmentalists.

TotalEnergies is pushing ahead with its Tilenga drilling project in Uganda and the 1,443-kilometre (897-mile) East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) to transport crude to the coast in Tanzania.

Tilenga targets oil under the Murchison Falls nature reserve in western Uganda with a planned 419 wells, triggering fears for the region's fragile ecosystem among the people who live there and environmentalists.

Drilling began in mid-2023 and production is slated for 2025.

TotalEnergies has argued that such projects are needed to meet world demand for energy, and points to its efforts to transition to low-carbon production, notably in solar and wind energy.

The energy giant proposed a 7.1 percent increase in its annual dividend paid out to shareholders.

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.