Total’s net profit falls 35% in the first quarter as oil prices slide

Total on Tuesday posted a significant fall in first-quarter net profit, as oil prices tumbled to historic lows following a drop-off in demand due to the coronavirus crisis.

The French energy major reported Tuesday that first-quarter net profit came in at $1.8 billion, down from $2.8 billion over the same period last year, reflecting a fall of 35%.

Analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected first-quarter net profit to come in at $1.4 billion.

The company’s board also confirmed that its first-quarter dividend would be 0.66 euros per share, stable on the same period last year. It proposed an option to receive the 2019 final dividend in cash or in new shares of the company with a discount, subject to approval at the shareholders’ meeting on May 29.

“The Group is facing exceptional circumstances,” Patrick Pouyanne, CEO of Total, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Pouyanne, who will take a 25% fixed salary pay cut for the remainder of the year, underscored two major challenges through the first quarter: “The Covid-19 health crisis, which is affecting the world economy and creating major uncertainties, and the oil market crisis, with the sharp drop in oil prices since March.”

Shares of Total, which are down more than 38% year-to-date, rose nearly 7% shortly after Tuesday’s opening bell.