Investing.com — Spanish energy major ’s shares fell on Friday after its first-quarter trading update came in soft against elevated market expectations, in a period marked by sharply higher oil prices.
The stock was down 5.2% as of 08:00 ET (12:00 GMT).
Total production came in at an estimated 539 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day, broadly flat year-on-year, while consolidated production saw a sharp 18% decline to 303 kboed.
This was partly offset by a 38% surge in output from equity affiliates to 235 kboed — largely reflecting new production from Europe, Africa and the rest of the world that did not exist a year earlier.
Repsol said its first-quarter production was clipped by roughly 9 kboed after a gas pipeline incident in Peru forced a two-week shutdown and prompted the Peruvian government to declare a national gas supply emergency.
The company is due to publish its full first-quarter results on April 30.
On the price side, conditions improved markedly. Brent crude averaged $81.1 a barrel in the quarter, up 7% from a year earlier and more than 27% above the fourth quarter average, while Henry Hub gas prices surged nearly 38% year-on-year to $5.1 per million British thermal units.
On refining, the margin indicator in Spain more than doubled compared to a year ago to $10.9 a barrel, though utilization rates fell both year-on-year and from the prior quarter, the report showed.
Chemical margins also slipped, dropping 25% from the fourth quarter. Spanish electricity prices, meanwhile, collapsed nearly 50% year-on-year to €43.3 per megawatt hour.
“We expect a slightly negative share price reaction to Repsol’s Q1 trading statement,” Barclays analyst Naisheng Cui said. While refining margin and upstream production are softer than our forecasts, this largely reflects elevated expectations. We still see underlying performance remaining on track to deliver the company’s CMD targets.”
Barclays cut its first-quarter group EBIT estimate for Repsol by around 9% to €1.35 billion following the update, and trimmed its adjusted net result before minorities by 5% to €1.1 billion.