Total Q3 Profits up 29% Year on Year

French Total reported a Q3 profit of $2.7bn, up 29% year on year, while the price of its main commodity, crude, rose 14% to $52.1/barrel, it said October 27. Its average gas sales price was also up, by $0.60/mn Btu to $4.05/mn Btu. Upstream profits were up 84% while actual output rose 6% to 2.58mn barrels of oil equivalent/day.

This came from new project ramp-ups, notably Kashagan, Moho Nord, Surmont, Incahuasi, Angola LNG and Edradour-Glenlivet. There were also changes in the portfolio, including the concession for the Al-Shaheen oil field in Qatar and a new stake in the Barnett shale in the US. Field declines amounted to 5% off output. Gas production was up 32% in the Americas and 7% in Africa but down in Europe (1%), Asia-Pacific (10%) and Middle East and north Africa (4%).

Organic investments so far this year stand at $10bn, so it is on track to meet the $14bn target, while cost-cutting has saved it over $3.6bn and ahead of target. It started up the Edradour and Glenlivet fields offshore UK, at a cost that was 30% under budget.

The gas, power and renewables division did badly owing to weakness in the solar market. Adjusted net income was down 49% to $97mn, from $191mn in the same period last year, and down by 18% if the first three quarters are compared year on year. LNG sales in 3Q were up 8% to 2.95mn metric tons, excluding trading.

The breakeven price of crude continues to fall, it said, but it is taking a cautious approach. While the imbalance between supply and demand is narrowing and Brent has risen above $55, inventories are still high, it said. It is aiming for another $5bn in savings by 2020 and increasing production by 5%/year until 2022.

CEO Patrick Pouyanne said the "solid performance" was "reflected in a return on equity of close to 10% and strong cash flow generation: excluding acquisitions and divestments, the Group generated $2.1bn of cash flow after investments in the third quarter 2017 and $5.2bn in the first nine months."