Paris — TotalEnergies reported a 23% drop in second-quarter earnings on Thursday, the French oil major’s worst performance in four years but in line with expectations, as lower oil and gas prices outweighed a rise in production and power sales.
Adjusted net income fell to $3.6bn for the three months to June 30, down from $4.7bn a year earlier and $4.2bn in the first quarter. The stock was down 1.6% to €51.71 at 2.22pm SA time.
Brent crude prices have fallen 20% from a year ago as Opec+ producers started to unwind output cuts of 2.17-million barrels a day in April. Norway’s Equinor on Wednesday reported a 13% drop in second-quarter profit, hit by lower oil prices.
TotalEnergies’ net debt leapt 89% from a year earlier to $25.9bn, pushing its gearing — a measure of debt to equity — to 22.6% including leases as the company made $2bn worth of acquisitions and spent heavily on projects even as it extended a $2bn share buyback into the third quarter.
“We do not expect investors to reward buybacks that are paid out of balance sheets indefinitely,” RBC analyst Biraj Borkhataria said in an investor note.
Refining and chemicals earnings fell 39% from a year ago, the company said.
TotalEnergies’ margin for refining crude into fuels dropped 21% from a year ago to $35.3 a tonne, despite a slow recovery in the first half of 2025 from a collapse last year due to sagging demand and an increase in global competition.
The company expects refining margins to rise above $50/tonne in the third quarter due to increased fuel demand during the European summer.
Profit from its integrated liquefied natural gas unit was down 9.6% year on year and 20% lower than the first quarter of 2025, as lower prices and less volatility meant traders could not profit from price changes. The integrated power unit beat forecasts, however, with a 14% rise in profit to $574m.
TotalEnergies also forecast a 3% increase in hydrocarbon output in the third quarter compared with the same period a year ago.
Reuters
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