Earnings
Eni doubles third-quarter profit on a refining surge, adds €1.3 billion special dividend and lifts buyback to €3.8 billion
The Italian energy group beat forecasts and raised its 2026 cash flow outlook to €16.5 billion, well above the €11.5 billion it had budgeted.
HedgeWeekly News Desk ·
Eni more than doubled its adjusted net profit to €2.8 billion in the third quarter, beating the €2.48 billion forecast in a company-compiled analyst consensus, and said it will return an extra €1.3 billion to shareholders through a special dividend of €0.46 a share, payable on December 9.
The state-controlled Italian group also raised its 2026 share buyback by 12% to €3.8 billion from €3.4 billion, its third increase this year. Proforma adjusted operating profit doubled from a year earlier to €6 billion and rose 12% from the second quarter. Exploration and production contributed €4.63 billion, up 76%, as underlying output climbed 7% to 1.83 million barrels of oil equivalent a day. Refining was the swing factor: Eni's standard refining margin averaged $28.1 a barrel, against $8.9 a year earlier and $8.3 in the second quarter.
Eni now expects adjusted cash flow from operations of €16.5 billion for 2026, compared with the €11.5 billion in its budget, and lifted its underlying production growth target to 6% to 7%. Gross capital spending stays at €7 billion, with net capex below €4.5 billion. Net debt stood at €6.7 billion at the end of September, leaving proforma gearing at 9%, below the 10% to 15% range Eni guides to.
For investors, the outlook still looks conservative on price: Eni's revised full-year scenario assumes Brent at $95 a barrel and a $18 refining margin, while Brent has traded above $110 this week amid Middle East supply fears. Shares must be held by the December 7 ex-dividend date to receive the special payout. TotalEnergies, Shell and BP report next week, and Eni's numbers are the first read on how much of this year's refining windfall Europe's majors are passing back to shareholders.