Oslo, Norway — Profits tumbled at Norway’s energy giant Equinor during the third quarter, the company said Friday, due to sharply lower gas prices and offshore wind problems.
Adjusted earnings, which excludes certain exceptional elements, fell by 67 percent from the same period last year to $8.0 billion at the firm, which is two-thirds owned by the Norwegian state.
That beat analyst expectations of $7.6 billion. Net profit plunged 73 percent to $2.5 billion.
Like other energy firms, the drop in global oil and gas prices has strongly impacted Equinor’s performance.
Revenue came in at $26 billion, a drop of nearly $18 billion from last year.
Meanwhile, production dipped by 1 percent to 2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, due to maintenance operations at several natural gas facilities.
The group lowered its annual outlook to a 1.5 percent gain in output, half of the level it had previously expected.
Equinor has also run into trouble with its renewable energy projects, making a $300 million provision for its Empire Wind 1 and 2 as well as Beacon Wind 1 wind projects off the coast of New York due to rising costs.
Together with its partner BP, it tried to get better financial conditions from US regulators due to the rising costs, but was unsuccessful.
“Equinor is assessing the implications for its projects,” the company said in a statement.
The provision helped push adjusted net losses to $108 million in the renewable energies unit, compared to a loss of $46 million in the same quarter last year.
Equinor shares were up 2.3 percent in afternoon trading while Norway’s market was up 1.4 percent overall.
