TOT TOTAL SE

By Giulia Petroni

Total SE said Friday that its profit fell in the third quarter of the year but that results benefited from a more favourable environment.

The French oil-and-gas major said quarterly net profit came in at $202 million, down from $2.80 billion in the same period last year. On an adjusted basis, profit was $848 million, above a FactSet-compiled consensus that had forecast the figure at $472.6 million.

Quarterly results were positively affected by oil prices above $40 a barrel as well as a strong recovery in petroleum products for road transportation, Total said. However, natural gas prices and refining margins continued to suffer due to excess production capacity.

Total's hydrocarbon production decreased 11% on year to 2.72 million barrels of oil equivalent a day partly due to compliance with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' quotas and portfolio effects. The company said it expects full-year production below 2.9 million boe/d.

Sales in the third quarter fell to $33.14 billion, compared with $48.59 billion for the year-earlier period.

Total maintained its third interim dividend payment at 0.66 euros ($0.77) a share and reaffirmed its sustainability in a $40/Bbl Brent environment.

Write to Giulia Petroni at giulia.petroni@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 30, 2020 03:52 ET (07:52 GMT)

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