Energy giant’s net results increase by almost 14%
Portugal’s energy giant GALP achieved net results of €1 billion in 2023, up 13.7% on the previous year, the company announced today, attributing the success to “solid performance” in all business units,
GALP said that EBITDA (earnings before taxes, interest, depreciation and amortisation) was €3.56 billion – down 7.6% on 2022, according to a statement sent to the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM).
By category, Upstream EBITDA (exploration and production of oil and natural gas) was €2.26 billion last year – a drop of 26.6%.
The company justified the fall on the reduction in the price of oil on the world market, emphasising that production will increase by 6% in 2023.
In the ‘Industrial and Midstream’ category (transport, storage and marketing of crude oil and natural gas), EBITDA totalled €929 million last year, more than double the figure for 2022.
However, GALP acknowledged that it expects EBITDA to fall by 13% this year.
The group’s net debt rose from €1.21 billion at the end of September to €1.4 billion at the end of December (but fell from €1.5 billion at the end of 2022).
GALP’s Board of Directors will propose a 4% increase in dividends in 2024 to 0.54 euros per share and, based on 2023 performance, a €350 million share buyback programme to be carried out this year.
In the 4th quarter of last year, GALP’s net profit increased by 4% year-on-year to €284 million, with the oil company highlighting the “solid operational performance” of the Upstream and the “maintenance of the contribution of the Midstream, although limited in the refining area by the planned stoppage (for maintenance) in Sines”.
In this quarter, EBITDA reached €720 million, with Upstream totalling €599 million, a year-on-year decrease of 24% as a result of the exit of Angolan assets and a “less favourable” oil and gas price environment.
On a comparable basis, production in Brazil and Mozambique increased by 8% year-on-year, supported by the contribution of the FLNG Coral Sul project in Mozambique and the increased availability and efficiency of the operating units in Brazil.
In “Renewables & New Businesses” segment, pre-tax profits totalled €21 million in a seasonally low quarter for production, reflecting a lower market price environment but benefiting from increased operating capacity, the company said.
As for the “Industrial & Midstream” category, it recorded an EBITDA of €63 million, with a “robust contribution” from Midstream in the oil, gas and electricity trading activities, which “more than offset the negative contribution from the Industrial segment”, following the planned winding up of the Sines refinery.
In the commercial area, profit before tax totalled €54 million between October and December, a quarter of lower seasonal demand in the Iberian Peninsula, but there was a year-on-year increase in the contribution from non-oil and low-carbon businesses.
In the last quarter of 2023, GALP’s net investment was €382 million – mostly directed towards the Upstream projects under development in the Brazilian pre-salt and the exploration campaign in Namibia, as well as the start of construction of the advanced biofuels plant and the 100 Megawatt (MW) electrolysis unit in Sines.
LUSA
