TotalEnergies: Megaprofits relax debate on distribution of riches

The petroleum and gas multinational has made a record profit of 16 billion dollars in 2021.

by

How to redistribute riches? Well beyond the Paris Stock Exchange, the debate has returned more beautiful with publication, Thursday, February 10, of net income 2021 of the TotalEnergies group (ex-total). On a turnover of 205 billion dollars (179.4 billion euros), the oil and gas multinational made profits of $ 16 billion in 2021. A record sum, after the loss of $ 7 billion In 2020, a year marked by the recession due to COVID-19 and by impairment of assets.

The other majors derive a gigantic profit from the petroleum rebound (+ 82%, end 2021, for the barrel of Brent, compared to the end of 2020) and the overbidden even higher of the gas. In particular, the American Exxonmobil and the Anglo-Dutch Shell, with $ 23 billion and $ 20.1 billion of respective benefits. But also the American Chevron (15.6 billion) and the British BP (7.6 billion).

On February 9, as if it were to deal with any controversy over his megaprofits in full outbreak of pump prices, Totalnergies announced two small commercial gestures for French households. It will be a rebate in its rural stations and a “gas check” of 100 euros for its customers in energy poverty. Cost of “solidarity”, according to the group: about 50 million euros.

half of the profits will pay the shareholders

At two months of the presidential election, the ecologist candidate Yannick Jadot has ironized, Wednesday 9 February, on LCI, on “the charity of Total vis-à-vis his consumers”. “As in the Middle Ages, these new Lords of the Defense Quarter sway their crumbs from their skyscrapers,” wrote Communist Fabien Roussel, in a statement, about the company’s leaders. Before proposing especially something else, in order to “lower the price of the liter of gas for all the French”: do not pay dividends this year.

For the year 2021, at least half ($ 8 billion) of the profits of Totalnergies will remunerate its shareholders in dividends. In addition, the Group intends to spend $ 2 billion in share redemptions in the first half of 2022. A practice supposed to support the stock exchange price. Already, in 2020, even at the height of the health crisis, and despite a barrel of Brent at the lowest, the company had kept the pamper. On the other hand, Shell had reduced dividends for the first time since the Second World War.

You have 59.12% of this article to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.

/Media reports.