PARIS (Reuters) – TotalEnergies published lower results on Wednesday for the fourth quarter of 2023 due to the drop in the price of hydrocarbons, despite a new record in net profit share of the group over the whole year, and announced an increase in its dividends.

The oil and gas company, also very present in renewable energies, is proposing a dividend of 3.01 euros per share for 2023 (+7.1%) and has confirmed its intention to allocate more than 40% of its cash -flow to its shareholders in 2024.

TotalEnergies specified that this policy would combine an increase in its interim dividend of 6.8% (to 0.79 euros per share) and share buybacks of $2 billion in the first quarter, a level which will remain a “base “quarterly in the current environment.

Over the October-December period, the group recorded adjusted net income of $5.2 billion (-31%), adjusted EBITDA of $11.7 billion (-27%) and production of 2.462 million barrels per day. (-1%).

According to a consensus established by Refinitiv, analysts on average expected adjusted net income of $5.4 billion.

Around 11:40 a.m., TotalEnergies shares lost 2.22% to 58.96 euros while the CAC 40 fell by 0.19%. Analysts at RBC Capital Markets highlighted in a note that the group’s performance was “slightly below expectations”, for a publication which overall contains few “fireworks”.

The CEO of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné, also declared during a press conference that the refining and petrochemical market was expected to be “less good” in 2024 than in 2022 and 2023.

“We have seen (the) demand weaken, particularly in Europe and the United States; the effects of less growth are starting to be felt on the chemical side, so we have petrochemical margins which are low. This has an impact the result of the last quarter and we think that it will impact the year 2024. It is not a major element, but it is a more difficult environment for the downstream part,” he said.

RECORD MDS GROUP SHARE NET PROFIT IN 2023

After being held back in 2022 by nearly $15 billion in provisions linked to its residual presence in Russia, TotalEnergies’ annual group net profit reached a new record, at $21.4 billion (+4%). , while analysts expected 22.6 billion.

TotalEnergies expects net investments of 17 to 18 billion dollars this year – including 5 billion dedicated to its electricity activities -, compared to 16.8 billion in 2023.

Stressing that the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market should remain under pressure, the group anticipates hydrocarbon production exceeding 2.4 million barrels per day in the first quarter and increasing by 2% in 2024.

TotalEnergies indicated that the utilization rate of its refineries should be above 85% in 2024 and that the growth of its electricity activities (“Integrated power”) should continue this year, with a cash- flow expected between 2.5 and 3 billion dollars.

(Reporting by Benjamin Mallet; editing by Kate Entringer)

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