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BCN-19
FRANCE-OIL-EARNINGS-TOTAL
Pumping and prices make for Total success
PARIS, Feb 7, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – French oil giant Total said Thursday its
net profit climbed 33 percent in 2018 thanks to a rise in oil prices and
production.
Net profit attributable to share holders rose to $11.4 billion (10.1
billion euros), Total said in a press release.
Stripping out exceptional items, the increase was 28 percent $13.6
billion, slightly less than expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet.
Like its competitors, the group benefitted from high global oil prices in
2018, which were up by nearly a third from the previous year.
Production grew 8 percent as Total brought new projects into operation and
acquired the Danish group Maersk Oil.
The firm expects production will increase by more than 9 percent this
year.
Total said it plans to continue the cost-cutting drive it started after
global oil prices plunged in 2014, and aimed to make savings of $4.7 billion.
Other oil giants, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron have also
reported profit rises in 2018 thanks to high crude prices and their efforts
to contain costs.
BSS/AFP/HR/1440