Eni's Board of Directors, chaired by Lucia Calvosa, approved on 27 Apr 2023 the unaudited consolidated results for the 1Q 2023, said the company.
1Q 2023 adjusted profit before tax of EUR 5.0 bn was only 5% lower than 1Q 2022 despite a 20% fall in crude oil price and a 42% drop in gas price. This performance reflects a highly resilient E&P result and an outstanding contribution from the GGP business plus steady earnings from Sustainable Mobility & Refining.
Of note is the 30% rise in adjusted EBIT and 14% rise in adjusted profit before tax on 4Q 2022 despite the weakening Upstream scenario. E&P earned EUR 2.8 bn of adjusted EBIT. Including the contribution of Azule, the 1Q 2023 pro-forma EBIT increased to EUR 2.93 bn, a reduction of 33% year on year. GGP earned EUR 1.37 bn of adjusted EBIT, 47% higher than the 1Q 2022, driven by optimization and trading activities. Eni Sustainable Mobility, operational as of 1 Jan 2023, delivered EUR 0.14 bn of adjusted EBIT, up by EUR 0.07 bn compared to the proforma adjusted EBIT of the 1Q 2022 following the restatement of the comparative period.
The Refining business earned EUR 0.13 bn of adjusted EBIT compared to a loss of EUR 0.04 bn during 1Q 2022. The improvement was driven by higher benchmark refining margins, with Eni's SERM up to $11/bbl (vs a negative value in 2022) but negatively impacted by planned turnaround activity at important upgrading refinery units and lower leverage to natural gas price energy costs than in the benchmark due to efficiency initiatives already undertaken. Versalis was negatively affected by lower demand and market uncertainties, which held back purchase decisions by resellers and continued competitive pressures of products from Middle and East Asia.
Plenitude & Power delivered solid results with EUR 0.19 bn of adjusted EBIT (flat year on year) helped by the ramp up in the renewable installed capacity and production volumes and optimizations in the business of power generation from gas-fired plants. Plenitude generated EUR 0.23 bn of adjusted EBITDA despite challenging conditions. 1Q 2023 adjusted net profit attributable to Eni shareholders was EUR 2.9 bn and, compared with 1Q 2022, was 11% lower. In 1Q 2023, the Group adjusted operating cash flow before working capital at replacement cost was EUR 5.3 bn, largely exceeding the cash outflows related to organic capex of EUR 2.2 bn and dividend payments (EUR 0.8 bn).
Seasonal factors that typically shape working capital requirements in the first quarter accounted for the bulk of the excess cashflow with other investing activities also a EUR 0.2 bn outflow and the net effect of acquisition and disposal amounting to EUR 0.3 bn. In Mar 2023, Eni paid the third instalment of the 2022 dividend of EUR 0.22/share. The fourth tranche of EUR 0.22 per share will be paid in May 2023. Net borrowings ex-IFRS 16 as of 31 Mar 2023, were EUR 7.8 bn, and Group leverage stood at 0.14, versus 0.13 as of 31 Dec 2022.
We remind, Eni has started offloading the initial LNG cargo into Snam's new c in Piombino on 8 May 2023. The terminal has a cumulative processing capacity of 5 bn cu m/y, or nearly 7% of Italy's gas demand. The LNG was generated at Egypt's Damietta liquefaction facility, one of the units where Eni has invested with the strategic target of expanding its integrated liquefied gas portfolio. Eni bought regasification capacity at Piombino terminal as part of its strategy to diversify Italy's LNG supplies through its internationally generated equity gas. Leveraging its strong relations with the nations where it runs and its trademark fast-track project development approach, Eni has boosted the volumes of available gas from Libya, Algeria, and Italy and raised the number of LNG cargoes from Congo, Egypt, Qatar, Nigeria, Angola, Mozambique, and Indonesia.
mrchub.com