Why Oil & Gas Major Equinor Shares Are Higher Premarket Thursday

Equinor ASA EQNR shares are trading higher after the company reported first-quarter FY24 results.

Adjusted revenue and other income declined 13% Y/Y to $24.79 billion, above the consensus of $22.24 billion.

Equity liquids production rose 2% Y/Y to 2,164 mboe per day, led by increased capacity at Johan Sverdrup and ramp-up of Breidablikk and new wells on stream.

Also, the equity gas production fell 1% Y/Y to 1,046 mboe per day in the quarter. Group average liquids price rose 3% Y/Y to $76.0/bbl, and realised piped gas price US tumbled 28% Y/Y to $2.33/mmbtu.

Equinor produced 774 GWh from renewables, up 48% Y/Y, led by onshore power plants in Brazil and higher production from offshore wind farms.

Operating cash flow stood at $9.0 billion, down 39% Y/Y, in the quarter. Adjusted EPS of $0.96 beat the consensus of $0.80.

Dividend: The board of directors declared a first-quarter ordinary cash dividend per share of $0.35 and an extraordinary cash dividend of $0.35, payable on August 28, 2024, to shareholders of record as of August 19, 2024.

Repurchase: The company started the second tranche of the share buyback program for 2024 on May 14, with a total value of up to $1.6 billion.

In February 2024, the board of directors disclosed a two-year share buyback program for 2024-2025 of $10 billion-$12 billion in total, with up to $6 billion for 2024. 

In the quarter, Equinor completed nine exploration wells offshore with two commercial discoveries and had three wells ongoing at the end of the quarter.

FY24 Outlook Reaffirmed: Equinor expects production to be stable Y/Y and organic capital expenditures to be around $13 billion.

Equinor expects total capital distributions in FY24 of $14 billion in FY24.

Anders Opedal, President and CEO, said, “On the NCS we got approval for the Eirin project and the Sleipner and Gudrun fields are now partially operating with power from shore, all contributing to lower cost and emissions from production.”

Also Read: Equinor Infuses $6B Annually To Maintain Norway’s Oil Game: Report

“We maintain a value-driven approach to renewables growth. In the quarter, we achieved significantly better terms for our Empire Wind 1 project in the US and started the commercial production from the Mendubim solar plants in Brazil.”

Investors can gain exposure to the stock via Macquarie ETF Trust Macquarie Energy Transition ETF PWER and Pacer Developed Markets International Cash Cows 100 ETF ICOW.

Read: Equinor Expands Helicopter Diversity For Norwegian Continental Shelf Operations: Details

Price Action: EQNR shares are up 4.02% at $28.19 premarket at the last check Thursday.