By Adam Whittaker


TotalEnergies said it would return more cash to shareholders as the conflict in the Middle East provides an earnings windfall, with prices set to remain high over the second quarter as disruption continues.

The French energy major said Wednesday that it would resume share repurchases of up to $1.5 billion over the second quarter ending June as war-induced price rises deliver earnings and cash-flow growth. It also raised its interim dividend by nearly 6% to 0.90 euros ($1.05) a share.

Higher oil prices, growth in liquefied natural gas production and a very strong performance from its traders meant the company's net profit doubled on quarter to $5.81 billion. This beat the $5.21 billion analysts had expected, according to a Visible Alpha consensus.

Earlier this week, British rival BP also said quarterly earnings more than doubled following volatility triggered by the conflict.

Facilities representing around 15% of TotalEnergies' total oil and gas production are shut down due to the conflict in the Middle East. It has halted production in Qatar, Iraq and offshore the United Arab Emirates as energy infrastructure in the region has come under attack.

TotalEnergies said it expects prices to remain elevated over the second quarter.

It said restarting production facilities in the Middle East should take two to three months once it chooses to do so. Resuming production after it has been halted is a carefully choreographed procedure that is costly and time consuming. TotalEnergies didn't provide commentary as to when it will be in a position to start this process. Currently there is no timeline on ending the war despite a cease-fire agreement.

Continued disruption as well as time lags between initiating production restarts and reaching full capacity mean normal oil supplies from the region won't return immediately.

LNG prices should also remain elevated as Asia and Europe compete for cargos, TotalEnergies said.

Despite its own production lockdowns, output was largely unchanged on the prior quarter as new projects and start-ups in Brazil and Libya helped offset the losses.

TotalEnergies said its downstream performance was aided by a recovery in refining units, which captured exceptional margins in March when shutdowns in the Middle East and market dislocations offered ideal conditions for refiners.

TotalEnergies shares were 0.4% higher at 78.60 euros in late morning trade in Europe.


Write to Adam Whittaker at adam.whittaker@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-29-26 0636ET