Equinor shares fall as cash flow miss outweighs record output, soaring prices

 May 6 (Reuters) – Equinor missed quarterly cash-flow forecasts on Wednesday, hitting its shares even as the Norwegian oil major posted its strongest profit in three years on record output and Iran war-driven price gains.

Shares in the majority state-owned group were down 7.6% at 0911 ​GMT, underperforming a 2% drop in European energy stocks, though they remain up more than 50% year ​to date.

Adjusted earnings before tax for January-March rose to $9.77 billion, the highest since the first ⁠quarter of 2023, from $8.65 billion a year earlier, beating the $9.0 billion forecast in an Equinor-compiled analyst poll.

Cash flow from ​operations after tax fell 19% to $6.0 billion, missing expectations of $7.3 billion. Equinor said the shortfall was partly due to ​higher collateral requirements for energy trading amid volatile markets.

The company said disruption to global energy flows from the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz was likely to persist well beyond any end to hostilities.

“If this stops now, we ​think there at least will be around six months plus before everything is back to normal,” CEO Anders Opedal ​told Reuters on the sidelines of a company presentation.

TOO SOON TO TALK ABOUT EXTRA BUYBACKS, DIVIDENDS

Equinor reiterated its February decision to cut share ‌buybacks ⁠by 70% to preserve cash and kept its regular quarterly dividend unchanged at $0.39 per share, despite the prospect of windfall profits from Middle East supply disruptions.

Opedal said cash flow could rise by as much as $8 billion this year, but added it was too early to say whether buybacks would be increased or special dividends announced, citing continued price volatility.

The ​company, which is due to ​present a strategy update ⁠next month, may revisit capital distributions later in the year, he said.

While Equinor has followed BP in sticking to a pared-back buyback programme, European peers TotalEnergies and Eni have increased payouts.

Equinor’s downstream ​division, which includes energy trading, reported a profit of $787 million, beating analysts’ expectations of $693 ​million and the unit’s ⁠long-term quarterly guidance of $400 million.

Brent crude futures have surged above $100 per barrel since the Iran war began, after trading between $60 and $70 for much of the past year.

Europe’s benchmark gas price is also about 50% higher, with Qatari liquefied natural gas ⁠shipments disrupted.

Equinor ​produced a record 2.31 million barrels of oil equivalent per day ​in the first quarter, up from 2.12 million a year earlier and above the 2.22 million forecast by analysts.