The rise in hydrocarbon prices, supported by better fundamentals and a short market for natural gas, push Eni’s accounts. Which reaches the halfway point of the first quarter with a net profit of 3.27 billion euros compared to 270 million in the first quarter of 2021, while the adjusted operating profit, net of extraordinary items, is quadrupled compared to the figure recorded in the first three months of last year and stood at 5.19 billion compared to 3.87 billion in 2021, an increase of 300 percent. Driving the performance of the group led by Claudio Descalzi are the solid results of E&P, exploration and production, the engine of Eni’s machine which continues to run at full speed and which closed the quarter with an adjusted ebit of 4, 38 billion, with an increase of 3 billion on the figure for the first three months of 2021. And this despite the slight decline in production which recorded a -5% with a level of 1.6 million barrels.
Descalzi: significant strategic developments in the quarter
«The quarter was characterized by significant strategic developments for Eni – explains Eni’s number one, Claudio Descalzi, following the dissemination of the results -. We have successfully concluded the listing process of our Norwegian upstream subsidiary, Vår Energi, of which we now hold 64%, and we have launched the integration transaction of their respective relevant upstream portfolios in Angola with BP. Plenitude, our subsidiary that integrates renewable energy with retail gas & power, is moving towards listing by 2022, subject to market conditions and we have announced the forthcoming establishment of a Sustainable Mobility company that will combine our biorefineries, our network of multi-product, multi-service stores and their customers. We have successfully completed the initial subscription offer on the London list of Neoa shares, a vehicle that will identify acquisition opportunities in the sectors of decarbonisation and energy transition ».
The solidity and resilience of the business
As for the numbers, the CEO does not hide his satisfaction and highlights how the performance of the group has shown “solidity and resilience in a context of extreme price volatility and uncertainty due to the ongoing war and international tensions”. Descalzi also underlines the excellent result achieved on the adjusted EBIT front which reached € 5.2 billion, an increase of € 3.9 billion compared to the first quarter of 2021, and underlines, as mentioned, “the robust trend of E&P (Exploration & Production) thanks to the strong price scenario, and Ggp (Global gas and lng portfolio) ».
Strict financial discipline
For the number one, the results are also the result of rigorous financial discipline. “It was crucial – he adds – that in a market characterized by such volatility, we remained financially disciplined and in this way we generated an organic free cash flow of 1.8 billion euros, despite the greater needs of working capital connected to the seasonality of sales of gas made even more accentuated by the increase in the prices of raw materials. In conclusion, it was a quarter of evident progress in the implementation of our strategy aimed at guaranteeing the safety and sustainability of the energy system, maintaining our strong commitment to a just energy transition and to the creation of value for our stakeholders “.
Energy diversification alongside the government
Descalzi then retraces the choices made by the group also with respect to the impact of the conflict in Ukraine and lined up the search, alongside the government, for alternative suppliers to the Russian gas market. “We have reacted quickly to the changing conditions of the energy market by leveraging the global dimension of our upstream sector and the consolidated relationships with producing countries to identify new supply opportunities for Europe, incremental and alternatives to the existing ones”, recalls the CEO which recalls the agreements signed in recent weeks in the presence of Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Ministers Luigi Di Maio (Foreign Affairs) and Roberto Cingolani (Ecological Transition). “We have concluded important agreements with Algeria, Egypt and Congo, and yet another in Angola, which further strengthen the joint activities with local state companies with the aim of promoting greater flows of natural gas exports to the benefit of Italy and Europe in the context of the transition towards a decarbonised economy ”.