Italian fuel business Eni has said that its third-quarter profit has jumped back to pre-COVID levels boosted by higher prices.
The group reported an adjusted net profit of €1.43 billion in the period, up from a €153 million loss a year earlier, and beat a €1.08 billion consensus forecast.
Fuel prices have surged in recent months as tight supplies met with strong demand in economies recovering from the pandemic, boosting bottom lines for many energy companies.
"In the first nine months strong cash generation and careful cost management has freed up more than €4 billion of free cash flow, more than enough to cover the whole dividend and buyback for 2021," chief executive Claudio Descalzi said in a statement.
Oil and gas production grew 6% on the second quarter to 1.688 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (mboe/d) and the group said it expected output in the final three months to reach 1.76 mboe/d.
Move To Renewables
Last year Eni launched an overhaul to shift into renewables and reduce its oil and gas output as it looks to become carbon neutral by 2050.
It recently created a new division comprising renewable energy and retail and plans to list a minority stake in the company to help fund its green drive.
On Friday it said it expected to have 2 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity installed or under construction by the end of this year compared to less than 1 GW last year. The company is targeting renewable capacity of 15 GW in 2030.
"Eni will remain focused on capital discipline to reduce our cash neutrality, the rapid deployment of new technologies to speed up the execution of our decarbonisation plans and, on the acceleration in establishing dedicated business vehicles as a key strategic element to focus our growth and to highlight the full value of our portfolio," Descalzi said.
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