France's Total’s net income drops in Q3, but beats expectations

France’s Total SA announced its financial results for the third quarter, according to media reports. The company’s net income posted a decrease of 25% to $2.1 billion on a quarterly adjusted basis in the third quarter, beating analysts’ expectations while the company’s revenue fell by 8% to $37.4 billion during the same period.

The analysts’ expectations called for a $1.880 billion net income in a survey by Reuters. The company reported that its cash flow rose by 13% in Q3 from the previous quarter. Its total oil production was up 4.3% due to five new fields and the company said the average cash flow per barrel was higher in the new fields compared to the existing ones. It also raised output at nine fields which drove output growth.

Total said increased oil and gas production and an aggressive saving drive put it on track to organically cover spending and dividends in a low oil environment of $55 a barrel next year.

Total also reported that costs decreased more rapidly than estimated and they expect to get almost $3 billion in cash flow in 2017 with new projects and about $7 billion in 2020. In the upstream segment where it is finding most of its savings, Total said its operating cost per barrel had fallen by about 40 percent since 2014 to below $6 per barrel.