Energy players see rebound in Q2 profits

Energy multinationals have recorded a rise in profits in Q2 2021, including Halliburton, BASF, Galp and Equinor, the companies said in press releases this week and last.

Halliburton saw earnings rise to USD 0.26 per diluted share compared to USD 0.19 in the previous quarter. The oilfield services player recorded USD 227 million in income in Q2 2021. The profits beat predictions from analysts at the Wall Street Journal who predicted Halliburton’s stock would rise only USD 0.22 per diluted share.

German chemicals company BASF published sales growth of 56% in Q1 2021 from the previous quarter to USD 23.4 billion due to higher prices and volumes. Earnings before interest and taxes rose from its operations in pre-pandemic Q2 2019 by USD 1.65 billion to reach USD 2.83 billion in Q2 2021.

Portugal’s energy player Galp saw earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of USD 674 million in Q2 2021, a year-on-year rise of USD 311 million.

Norwegian energy producer and refiner Equinor saw the sharpest rise in profits year on year. The company released adjusted earnings before tax of USD 4.64 billion in Q2 2021, a steep rise from USD 350 million in the same quarter in 2020.

Most climbs in profits are attributed to higher commodity values. Brent crude rose to an average of USD 69 per barrel in Q2 2021, up from USD 61 per barrel in the previous quarter.

Shell, TotalEnergies, BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips are all expected to publish their Q2 earnings next week.