(Bloomberg) – Eni SpA reported profit that beat analyst estimates as proceeds from asset sales and sweeping cost cuts helped counter a weak oil market.
While crude prices were lower in the second quarter — weighing on earnings at other European oil companies — Eni has been buoyed by a cost-reduction program introduced earlier this year, while asset disposals brought down debt.
Adjusted net income fell 25% from a year earlier to $1.3 billion (€1.13 billion), the Italian energy company said Friday in a statement. That exceeded the €932.6 million average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Eni said it’s now targeting around $3.5 billion (€3 billion) of cost cuts this year, up from $2.3 billion (€2 billion) previously. The company has also reaped billions of euros by offloading stakes in its renewables arm and mobility division, and is in talks to sell half of its carbon capture unit.
“The combination of divestments set to come through this year, ongoing ‘self-help,’ as well as the additional cash flow from new ramp-ups sets Eni up for a strong second half of 2025 and 2026,” RBC Europe Ltd. analyst Biraj Borkhataria said in a note. He expects “growing free cash flow and a more resilient balance sheet than we’ve seen for many years.”
The shares rose as much as 0.6% at the open in Milan, before trading little changed as of 9:08 a.m. local time.
Eni confirmed plans for shareholders’ returns this year. It expects free cash flow before working capital of about €11.5 billion at $70-a-barrel crude, up from previous guidance of €11 billion. The company also raised its forecast for annual earnings from its gas division to €1 billion from €800 million.
Net debt shrank to €29.1 billion at the end of June.
