Equinor Q2 Core Earnings Lag Forecasts; Says Too Early For Buybacks

Norwegian oil and gas firm Equinor said on July 26 second-quarter adjusted operating income rose from a year ago but missed forecasts due to higher maintenance costs at its Norwegian fields.

The company formerly known as Statoil also said it was too early to follow peers, such as Shell and Total, with share buyback programs as it had investment plans to fund.

“We did not feel it was natural in the second quarter [to launch buybacks] because we have big projects and increased working capital. We need to come back to the question at a later point,” CFO Hans Jakob Hegge told Reuters.

Equinor’s adjusted earnings before interest and taxes rose to $4.3 billion in the second quarter from $3 billion a year ago, missing a forecast for $4.6 billion in a Reuters poll.