Norway's first-quarter net profit of $49.7 beat expectations

Norwegian oil company EQNR.US reported first-quarter net profit of $4.97 billion, up 5.31 percent from a year earlier, versus expectations of $34.4. Earnings per share of $1.59, compared with $1.46 last year and $1.1 expected; Revenue fell 19.7% year-over-year to $29.22 billion, versus expectations of $33.65 billion.

At the same time, the Board of Directors declared an ordinary dividend of $0.30 per share and a special dividend of $0.60 per share for the period, payable on August 25 to shareholders of record on August 15. The company will launch a second $1.67 billion share buyback and expects to have a total capital distribution of $17 billion this year.

For 2023, the company expects production to be about 3% above 2022 levels; Endogenous capital expenditure is still expected to be between $10bn and $11bn, with an average annual expenditure of about $13bn in 2024-26.