Eni SpA’s second-quarter profit fell as lower energy prices weighed on its performance, but the company beat analysts’ estimates.
(Bloomberg) — Eni SpA’s second-quarter profit fell as lower energy prices weighed on its performance, but the company beat analysts’ estimates.
The Italian oil and gas giant’s results were broadly in line with its peers, which have reported substantial drops in earnings but maintained payouts to shareholders. Eni kept its 2023 share buyback target of €2.2 billion and reconfirmed its dividend.
“Eni has delivered excellent operating and financial results in the second quarter of 2023 despite a less supportive environment,” Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi said in a statement on Friday. “This resilience is significant after having successfully captured upside in the previous stronger scenario.”
Eni’s adjusted net income for the period was €1.94 billion ($2.1 billion), down 49% from a a year earlier and beating the average analyst estimate of €1.63 billion.
Shares of the company rose as much as 1.8% in Milan.
Despite lower prices in recent months, Eni’s natural gas business reported an adjusted operating profit of €1.1 billion in the second quarter and raised its guidance for the full year to between €2.7 billion to €3 billion, from €2 billion to €2.2 billion previously. The unit’s performance was mostly driven by benefits relating to contractual triggers, renegotiations and settlements, according to the statement.
The change in the guidance for the gas division “suggests a slowdown into the second half of the year, but still represents a significant move up relative to market expectations,” RBC analyst Biraj Borkhataria said in a note.
Eni’s renewables unit Plenitude’s pro-forma adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization guidance was raised to around €800 million from €700 million previously.
Read more: Eni’s Plenitude On Track to Meet Targets, Unit CEO Says
Eni confirmed its guidance for 2023 earnings before interest and taxes of €12 billion even as it revised down its energy price expectations. The company now assumes a natural gas price of €484 per thousand cubic meters, down from €529 previously, and Brent crude at $80 a barrel, down from from $85.
(Updates with share price in fifth paragraph.)
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