TOT TOTAL SE

   By Giulia Petroni 
 

Total SA said Thursday that profit jumped in the first quarter on the back of rising oil and gas prices, but added that the overall environment remains volatile.

The French oil-and-gas major said quarterly net profit was $3.34 billion compared with $34 million a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, profit came in at $3 billion, compared with a FactSet-compiled consensus of $2.45 billion.

Total's hydrocarbon production ticked 7% lower on year to 2.86 million barrels of oil equivalent a day compared with 3.09 million barrels of oil equivalent a day in the year-earlier period.

The company confirmed it expects production to be stable in the full year, benefiting from the resumption in Libya.

Sales in the first quarter amounted to $43.74 billion, compared with $43.87 billion a year earlier, it said.

The group's debt-to-equity ratio reached 19.5% as of March 31.

Total targets $500 million in operating costs savings in the full year and production costs close to $5 per barrel of oil equivalent. Net investments are expected to be between $12 billion and $13 billion, half of which will be allocated toward renewables and electricity.

The board will distribute a first interim dividend stable at 66 European cents ($0.80) for 2021, the company said.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 29, 2021 02:57 ET (06:57 GMT)

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