Home ›› 09 Feb 2023 ›› Stock
Equinor (EQNR.OL) on Wednesday posted a record $74.9 billion adjusted operating profit for 2022, more than double its previous high, as gas prices soared and fourth-quarter results beat expectations, boosting its share price by 7%.
The Norwegian oil and gas producer’s adjusted earnings before tax and interest for October-December rose to $15.1 billion from $15 billion a year earlier, beating the $14.4 billion predicted in a poll of 25 analysts compiled by Equinor.
Equinor raised its regular quarterly dividend and said it expected to see an annual cash flow from operations after tax of around $20 billion per year for the rest of the decade, reported Reuters.
Net profit for the year was $28.7 billion, up from $8.6 billion a year earlier. The company joined global oil and gas majors such as ExxonMobil (XOM.N), Shell (SHEL.L) and BP (BP.L) in reporting record bottom lines.
Sparebank 1 Markets analyst Teodor Sveen-Nilsen expected investors to focus on Equinor’s dividends and share buybacks.
“We expect the share to outperform peers today,” he said in a note to clients.
The majority state-owned company last year became Europe’s largest supplier of natural gas as Russia’s Gazprom (GAZP.MM) cut deliveries amid the West’s support for Ukraine, sending European gas prices to all-time highs.
Gas prices have tumbled in the new year, however, and Equinor’s Oslo-listed stocks have fallen 9% year-to-date, underperforming a 1.3% rise in European petroleum stocks (.SXEP).
