France-based Total said Thursday its first-quarter earnings increased, boosted by higher oil and gas prices, while the energy giant’s LNG sales also improved when compared to the same period last year.
Total’s adjusted net income rose by 69 percent year-on-year to $3 billion in the first quarter, also improving on the previous quarter by 9 percent.
The company’s chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said net income was also “above the pre-crisis first quarter of 2019, despite a less favorable environment.”
In addtion, Total’s LNG sales increased 1 percent to 9.9 million tonnes when compared to the January-March period but they were slightly down from 10 million tonnes in the fourth quarter.
Total said sales rose despite a 6 percent decrease in hydrocarbon production for LNG. The shutdown of Equinor’s Hammerfest LNG plant in Norway affected the production, according to Total.
Also, the company said earlier this month its average price for equity LNG sales in the first quarter reached $6.08/MMBtu, logging a rise when compared to the previous three-month period but still down year-on-year.