(News Bulletin 247) – The Norwegian oil company Equinor published results for the first quarter on Thursday much better than expected, thanks to an increase in its production and deliveries.
Its adjusted operating profit fell to $12 billion in the first quarter due to lower gas and oil prices, but beat the consensus of $11 billion.
Quarterly production represented 2.130 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, compared to 2.106 million in the first quarter, which partially offset this negative price effect.
Cash generated from operating activities reached $15.3 billion, which is still $9.7 billion after tax.
The group also announced the payment of an ordinary dividend of $0.30 for the first quarter, which will also be accompanied by the payment of a special dividend of $0.60.
Equinor says it still expects to return $17 billion in capital to its shareholders this year, including $6 billion through share buybacks.
As such, a new $1.7 billion securities buyback program will be launched on May 11, with the aim of being completed before the end of July.
Following these announcements, Equinor stock rose 3.7% on Thursday morning, ranking among the biggest increases in the STOXX 600 index.
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