Statoil reports adjusted earnings of $4 billion and $1.3 billion after tax in the fourth quarter of 2017.
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IFRS net operating income was $5.2 billion and the IFRS net income was $2.6 billion.
Adjusted earnings were $4.0 billion in the fourth quarter, up from $1.7 billion in the same period in 2016. Adjusted earnings after tax were $1.3 billion in the fourth quarter, up from negative $40 million in the same period last year.
Higher prices and continued solid operational performance, with record high production, contributed to the increase. In addition, lower exploration expenses contributed positively. For the full year, adjusted earnings were $12.6 billion, more than three times higher than $4.1 billion in 2016.
IFRS net operating income was $5.2 billion in the fourth quarter compared to negative $1.9 billion in the same period of 2016.
The IFRS result was impacted by net impairment reversals of $1.6 billion, mainly related to a U.S. onshore asset.
IFRS net income was $2.6 billion, up from negative $2.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016. For the full year, IFRS net income was $4.6 billion, compared to negativ
$2.9 billion in 2016.
Statoil delivered equity production of 2,134 mboe per day in the fourth quarter, an increase from 2,095 mboe per day in the same period in 2016.
The increase was primarily due to higher flexible gas production to capture higher prices, increased production US onshore and ramp-up of new fields.
With continued solid operational performance Statoil delivered all time high production with an underlying production growth of more than 6% in 2017.
As of year-end 2017, Statoil had completed 28 exploration wells with 14 commercial discoveries. Adjusted exploration expenses in the quarter were $0.3 billion, down from $0.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016.
The reserve replacement ratio (RRR) was 150% in 2017, impacted by sanctioning of new projects and positive reserve revisions on existing fields.
Cash flows provided by operating activities before taxes paid and working capital amounted to $20.7 billion for the full year of 2017 compared to $15.0 billion in 2016.
Organic capital expenditure was $9.4 billion for the full year of 2017. At year end, net debt to capital employed was 29.0%, after an increase in working capital and payments for value enhancing transactions.
The board of directors proposes to the annual general meeting (AGM) to increase the dividend by 4.5% to $0.23 per share, for the fourth quarter. The two-year scrip program ended as planned in third quarter 2017.
The twelve-month average Serious Incident Frequency (SIF) was 0.6 for 2017, compared to 0.8 in 2016. ■