- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
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- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
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- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
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- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
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- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
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- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
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- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
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TotalEnergies returns to profit after Covid crisis
French energy giant TotalEnergies on Thursday rebounded from the Covid crisis with a huge 2021 profit as oil and gas prices soared -- a performance that raised political hackles in an election year in France.
The company reported net profit of $16 billion (14 billion euros) -- the highest in at least 15 years -- following a historic $7.2-billion loss in 2020, when oil prices crashed.
Oil and gas firms slumped into the red in 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic slashed energy demand and prices.
But the market rebounded last year as the global economy and demand recovered.
"We entered the year 2021 cautiously, we didn't know we were headed at the start of the year and we saw the environment completely turn around," chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said at a news conference.
"We took full advantage of this favourable environment, particularly in the second half of the year," he said, noting that the company's liquefied natural gas business did particularly well.
TotalEnergies' adjusted net profit, which excludes certain one-time expenses, increased more than fourfold to $18.1 billion -- even as its oil production fell two percent last year.
With a presidential election looming in April, French left-wing politicians criticised the soaring profits at TotalEnergies even before the annual earnings statement was released.
Green presidential election candidate Yannick Jadot railed against profits made "on the back of French men and women" while "gas and petrol bills rise for the benefit of shareholders".
"We should just take it from them," said left-wing leader Jean-Luc Melenchon.
Stellar results at oil majors BP and Shell prompted calls for a windfall tax on the British energy giants.
Pouyanne said TotalEnergies already makes sizeable contributions to governments.
"If more were taken, it would be at the expense of investments, workers or shareholders," he said.
- Renewables investment -
As lockdowns spread in 2020, oil prices dropped off a cliff, even briefly turning negative.
But they soared back above $70 per barrel in 2021 and reached multi-year highs this year, exceeding $90.
Natural gas prices, meanwhile, increase fivefold on strong winter demand and geopolitical tensions between key supplier Russia and Western nations over Ukraine.
Oil prices could "remain at high levels" this year, TotalEnergies said.
After gas prices reached all-time highs in the final months of 2021, they have remained "very high" in Europe and Asia this year due to the geopolitical uncertainties, the company said.
With prices rising, TotalEnergies announced Wednesday a discount at the pump in rural areas in France along with a 100-euro voucher for people struggling to pay their gas bill.
"It's not small," Pouyanne said following criticism over the amount of the offer.
Once known as Total, the company changed its name last year to show that it was not just an oil and gas business anymore as it is diversifying into renewable energies.
The company said Thursday it would spend $3.5 billion on in renewables and electricity -- a quarter of its investments.
H.Silva--PC