Norway's Equinor buys back shares twice as much due to cash flow from the Iran war

Equinor, a Norwegian company, announced on Tuesday that it would increase its share-buybacks. This will return more cash to shareholders as the Middle East war has increased the price of gas and oil.

Equinor, a majority state-owned company, said it would spend $3 billion this year to buy back its own shares. This is up from the $1.5 billion that was projected in February prior to the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran.

In a recent statement, CEO Anders Opedal stated that "demand continues to grow" and Equinor was uniquely positioned to supply "reliable energy". He also said the company hoped to achieve "superior results" by 2030.

It said that the company wants to increase its oil and natural gas production by 150,000 barrels per day of oil equivalent (boed). This would bring it to a total of 2,3 million boed.

The company said that it plans to increase its cash dividends by 5% annually.

Equinor said it would buy back shares between $2 billion to $4 billion annually from 2027. This is based on the oil price of $60-80 per barrel, European gas prices ranging from $7 to $11 for a million British thermal unit (MMBtu), and its balance sheet strength.

The group, 67% of which is owned by the Norwegian Government, will give an update on its strategy to investors in New York, later?on?Tuesday, as it marks the 25th anniversary since the New York Stock Exchange listed the company back in 2001.

Equinor’s second-quarter 'pretax profit', which is due to be announced next month, will almost double from the previous year to $12.3 billion. This would be the strongest result for the group since the third-quarter 'of 2022.

Shares of the company have risen 37% year-to-date, even though they lost some gains in recent weeks due to the prospect?of an agreement between Washington and Teheran.

The share price fell 0.4% on Tuesday by 1025 GMT, lagging behind the European Oil and Gas Index which rose 0.6%. (Reporting and editing by Terje Solsvik, Nora Buli and Nerijus Adomiaitis)

(source: Reuters)