Total says net profit up 7 percent in 3Q

d PARIS - French oil giant Total SA said Wednesday its net profit rose 7 percent to $4.59 billion in the third quarter thanks to record-high oil prices in the period.

Total's adjusted net profit, the most closely watched indicator of its earnings, was $6.13 billion, up 48 percent from $4.13 billion a year earlier as oil prices averaged $115.10 a barrel in the July-September quarter, 54 percent above their year-earlier average price.

The adjusted figure is viewed by many analysts as the best measure of an oil company's underlying performance because it excludes gains or losses related to any changes in the value of oil companies' fuel inventories, instead measuring the amount it would cost to replace assets at current prices.

Rival oil companies — Chevron, Exxon Mobil, BP PLC, Royal Dutch Shell PLC and ConocoPhillips — posted combined earnings of $44.4 billion from July 1 to Sept. 30, up 58 percent from the same quarter a year earlier.

That's thanks in large part to oil prices soaring to a record above $147 per barrel in July and remaining above $100 by the end of the quarter.

Total's upstream production fell 5 percent in the period due to technical problems in Libya and the North Sea and security problems in Nigeria, the Paris-based company said.

Total said it averaged production of 2.23 million barrels of oil per day in the quarter, down from 2.35 million barrels a year earlier as unscheduled shutdowns in Libya and two North Sea fields weighed on output — despite the start-up or ramp-up of projects in Qatar, Republic of Congo and the North Sea.

In the statement, Total Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie said the 14 percent hike to the company's interim dividend announced in September "demonstrates the confidence of the group in its strategy" and confirms Total's ability to pursue "a policy of competitive dividend growth even in a less favorable environment."

Total reports its earnings in U.S dollars and euros to facilitate comparison with other global oil companies. In euro terms, net profit slid 2 percent to euro3.05 billion in the third quarter.

In a statement, Total blamed the slide in its net profit on the after-tax inventory affect, impacts from contract renegotiations in Libya and accounting treatments related to the merger of Sanofi-Aventis, in which Total owns a small stake.

Total made investments totaling 2.77 billion euros ($3.55 billion) in the quarter, and acquisitions worth 421 million euros ($539.72 million). The company made 524 million euros ($672 million) in asset sales during the quarter, mainly through the sale of shares in Sanofi-Aventis.

Total shares were down 3 percent at 43.17 euros ($55.34) in early afternoon trading European time.

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