TotalEnergies’ profits hit by lower refining margins in Europe

French energy giant TotalEnergies revealed its third quarter 2024 earnings on Thursday, recording a TotalEnergies net profit share of $2.3bn (€2.12bn). This was a fall of 39% from the second quarter of the year. 

This was mainly because of drastically lower European refining margins, which fell 66% quarter-on-quarter. However, TotalEnergies had already warned investors about this earlier in the month. 

The company’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the third quarter of the year came up to $10.0bn (€9.20bn), which was a 9% fall from the second quarter of the year. 

Cash flow from operating activities was $7.2bn (€6.62bn) which was a decrease of 20% from the second quarter in 2024. 

The company recently started production at its US high-margin Anchor oil project along with the Argentinian Fenix gas project which also started this year. Along with this, TotalEnergies started the GranMorgu project in Suriname, which is expected to go a long way in helping the company achieve its production growth target of 3% annually until 2030. 

TotalEnergies has also announced that it would be launching a share buyback worth $2bn (€1.84bn) in the last quarter of the year, as well as paying a third interim dividend of €0.79 per share for the fiscal year 2024. This would be a rise of almost 7% as compared to the previous year. 

Saint-Gobain signs renewable electricity supply deal with TotalEnergies

Earlier this month, sustainable construction company Saint-Gobain signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with TotalEnergies for the supply of renewable electricity to the former’s French operations. 

This electricity will come from TotalEnergies’ solar and wind plants in the Loire Valley and the south and northeast of France. The agreement is for about 875 GWh of electricity over five years and will start from January 2026 onwards.

Sophie Chevalier, vice president of Flexible Power and Integration at TotalEnergies, said in a press release on the company’s website: “We are delighted with this new contract with Saint-Gobain, a sign of our shared commitment to take carbon out of French industry. It also demonstrates our ability to offer electricity solutions that meet our client’s needs while ensuring the origin of the green electricity provided.

“In France, TotalEnergies has a renewable portfolio of over 2 GW, preventing the emission into the atmosphere of 800,000 tons of CO2 every year. That’s a persuasive argument for our customers.”

Swaroop Srinath, energy purchasing director for the Saint-Gobain Group, also said in the press release: “Saint-Gobain is committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Realising this ambition involves decarbonising our production processes. This contract signed with TotalEnergies allows the group to take a further step toward this goal with a reliable and continuous supply of renewable electricity for our industrial sites. 

“With this PPA, combined with others signed by the group in France, 30% of the electricity will be from renewable sources in France by 2027.”