- Oil prices hit by easing Middle East fears, most Asian markets rise
- Mbappe-PSG salary row faces hearing as France captain cited in 'rape' report
- K-pop star tells South Korea lawmakers of workplace bullying
- Ex-Wallabies captain Elsom denies wrongdoing after arrest warrant
- Pakistan 79-2 at lunch in second England Test after Leach strikes
- Hopes pinned on peace across Taiwan Strait after drills
- Valencia fans leave Singapore with 'stern warning' after protest
- Falling sales cause sour grapes for iconic Portugal wine
- Belgian pathologist and literary star gives 'voice to the dead'
- Ethiopia's 'korale' recyclers turn waste into money
- Italy row, AI in focus at world's biggest book fair
- US, Philippines launch war games a day after China's Taiwan drills
- Scotland lock Gray signs for Japan's Toyota
- Allen and Bills foil Rodgers, outlast Jets 23-20
- North Korea blows up roads connecting it to the South
- East Timor fights new battles 25 years after independence vote
- Japan election campaigns kick off for Oct 27 vote
- Home runs propel Mets, Yankees to MLB playoff victories
- Taiwan detects record 153 Chinese military aircraft after drills
- Oil prices drop on easing fears over Middle East, most markets rise
- Reoxygenating oceans: startups lead the way in Baltic Sea
- North Korea's Kim holds security meeting over drone flights
- Cars, chlamydia threaten Australian koalas
- Small town India's DIY film industry comes to London
- Harris slams Trump over military threat to 'enemy from within'
- Can biodiversity credits unlock billions for nature?
- Texas poised to execute autistic man for 'shaken baby' death
- King Charles III heads to Australia and Commonwealth meeting
- In the Colombian Pacific, fighting to save sharks
- Argentina's Matera banned for Italy Test after red card
- Vientos grand slam propels Mets in series-tying win over Dodgers
- Supporters of ex-Bolivia leader Morales block roads over possible arrest
- Germany into Nations League quarters, France and Italy win
- Nagelsmann lauds 'supercharged' Germany's 'best half of the year'
- 'Pandas are coming': Two new bears depart China for US capital
- Dodgers pitcher Kershaw plans to return for 2025
- Mbappe 'investigated for rape' in Sweden: report
- Revived Italy sweep past Israel in Nations League amid high security
- Trudeau slams India as tensions soar over Sikh separatist's murder
- Harris courts Black voters as Trump makes inroads
- Wall Street stocks hit fresh records as oil prices slide
- Nigerian team return home after boycotting AFCON qualifier in Libya
- Nigeria refuse to play in Libya as Algeria, Cameroon qualify
- Strike-hit Boeing leaves experts puzzled by strategy
- Leweling rockets Germany past Dutch and into Nations League quarterfinals
- Kolo Muani double fires France to win in Belgium
- Italy sweep past Israel in Nations League amid high security
- UN peacekeepers to 'stay in all positions' in Lebanon
- NASA launches probe to study if life possible on icy Jupiter moon
- 'Unique' Ronaldo an example to everyone, says Martinez
Eni profits slump on lower oil and gas prices
Italian energy giant Eni said Friday its net profit fell 67 percent to 1.91 billion euros in the third quarter of 2023, hit by falling oil and gas prices.
The figure was however higher than predicted by analysts surveyed by financial data firm FactSet, who had forecast a profit of 1.64 billion euros.
Adjusted net profit -- a figure closely watched by the markets because it excludes exceptional items -- also fell, by 51 percent to 1.81 billion euros.
Like its competitors, Eni benefited last year from the spike in gas and oil prices linked to the war in Ukraine, posting a record net profit of 13.8 billion euros.
The situation changed in 2023, with the price of a barrel of North Sea Brent down 14 percent in the third quarter, at an average of $86.76, the company said in a statement.
This drop is however smaller than the 31 percent fall recorded in the second quarter, when the average price was $78.39 a barrel.
In addition, the benchmark price of natural gas fell 83 percent in the third quarter, Eni said.
The group's turnover fell 40 percent in the three months to 22.31 billion euros, well below analysts' expectations of 32.58 billion euros.
Adjusted operating profit fell 48 percent to 3.01 billion euros in the third quarter.
But Eni raised its forecast of adjusted operating profit for the whole year to 14 billion euros, up from 12 billion previously, as oil prices start to rise again on concerns over the impact of the Hamas-Israel war.
Eni now expects a price of Brent to be $84 on average for 2023, compared to $80 forecast previously.
The group produced 1.63 million barrels a day of hydrocarbons during the third quarter, up four percent.
Eni on Monday agreed a 27-year deal with Qatar for a share in the Gulf emirate's huge North Field gas expansion project.
Earlier this month, it also announced a significant gas find in Indonesia.
F.Dubois--AMWN