Total reports sharply lower profits

Logo of French oil giant Total on its headquarters in the financial district of la Defense near Paris March 8, 2010.

Logo of French oil giant Total on its headquarters in the financial district of la Defense near Paris March 8, 2010.

Published Feb 12, 2014

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Paris - French oil company Total SA says its earnings slid nearly 30 percent in the fourth quarter as oil prices stagnated under $110 a barrel and production slipped into reverse.

The company reported fourth quarter profit of $2.18 billion, down 28 percent from $3.04 billion a year earlier.

The drop followed earnings declines at fellow European oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell, as falling refining margins and a sluggish European economy weighed on demand.

Total said Wednesday production slipped to 2.284 million barrels a day in the quarter, down 0.5 percent from a year earlier.

Total blamed “normal decline” and security issues in Nigeria and Libya for the drop.

Brent crude oil prices were down 1 percent at $109.2 a barrel in the quarter, Total said. - Sapa-AP

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