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By Nerijus Adomaitis
OSLO, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Norway's Equinor posted
record pretax profits for the fourth quarter on Wednesday,
driven by a boom in oil and gas prices and said it will raise
its dividend and increase share buybacks.
Adjusted earnings before tax rose to $15.0 billion in the
October-December quarter from $756 million in the same period a
year ago, exceeding the $13.2 billion predicted in a poll of 23
analysts compiled by Equinor.
CEO Anders Opedal said Equinor enjoyed a free cash flow of
$25 billion last year as a result of "continued improvements and
capital discipline".
"We are capturing value from high prices for gas and liquids
with excellent performance and increased production," he said a
in statement.
The oil and gas industry saw a massive turnaround last year
as markets overcame the pandemic-driven slump of 2020, with the
price of European natural gas quadrupling between January and
December while North Sea crude rose more than 50%.
Majority state-owned Equinor said it would pay a quarterly
dividend of $0.20 per share, up from $0.18 per share paid in the
third quarter, and plans to increase its share buybacks in 2022
to $5 billion from $1.3 billion in 2021.
(Editing by Terje Solsvik)
BP (BP.)
