Equinor Q4 Profit Rises On Higher Production; Updates FY19 Outlook

(RTTNews) - Norwegian energy company Equinor ASA (EQNR), formerly Statoil ASA, reported Wednesday that its fourth-quarter net income was $3.4 billion, up from $2.6 billion in 2017. Adjusted earnings after tax were $1.5 billion, higher than prior year's $1.3 billion.

IFRS net operating income increased to $6.7 billion from $5.2 billion in the same period of 2017.

Equinor delivered total equity production of 2,170 mboe per day in the fourth quarter, an increase from 2,134 mboe per day last year. The increase was mainly due to portfolio changes and new wells especially in the US onshore.

Further, the company said its board of directors proposed to the annual general meeting to increase the dividend by 13% to $0.26 per share for the fourth quarter.

Equinor also announced its updated outlook for fiscal 2019.

For the year, the company now expects organic capex of around $11 billion, production to be around the same level as 2018, and to deliver an average annual production growth of around 3% from 2019 to 2025.

Equinor expects exploration activity of around $1.7 billion in 2019.