Repsol closes 2022 breaking its own historical record of benefits, earning 4,251 million euros (in 2010 it reached 4,693 million euros), a 70% more than the previous year, thanks to the high international gas and gasoline prices that skyrocketed for the war in Ukraine.
Crude oil has a net profit of 6,750 million in recent years, which does not compensate the losses from previous years (2020 and 2019) when it registered red numbers of 3,289 million due to the drop in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. coronavirus and 3,816 million for the previous year, in this case for a accounting adjustment of 4,800 million.
The company, which carried out a positive contribution in all segments of your activity (exploration and production, refining and marketing), took advantage of the presentation of results to announce that the application of the 1.2% tax about your sales in Spain will have an impact on its accounts of 450 million euros in 2023As explained by its general director, Josu Jon Imaz, during the conference with analysts.
“Repsol believes that this tax is incompatible with the Spanish constitution and European law and will explore legal methods to increase it,” Imaz said, calling the tax “discriminatory and inflammatory” and “favorable to investment,” the price reduction it seeks. government.
“The high energy prices we pay today are not only the result of the war but also of Europe's high dependence on imports, the result of political decisions that decided to forget the need to invest in crude oil and gas and in refining capacity,” he protested. Imaz.
“We say to reduce CO2 emissions in Europe, but that is not true. When I say we need less ideology and more technology, I say it because European households cannot afford energy or industry. “We need a broader approach to the energy transition,” he added.
historical investments
With an investment rate of 4,182 million euros in 2022, a 40% more than the previous year, to “advance in the transformation of its activity”, the Most of it was applied to projects in the Peninsula Iberian (in Spain it invested 1.4 billion euros) and in the United States, Repsol plans to make a historic organic investment of more than 5 billion euros, of which 35% will be allocated to low-carbon projects.
In this sense, Imaz gave a good slap to the policies of the Old Continent, while he was full of praise for the model chosen by United States through the Inflation Reduction Act.
“The main driver of European strategies is complex and demanding regulation, while the furor is the opposite. It is stability, simplicity and above all it is an incentive to invest in the United States. In Europe, regulators complain that anger is not the best strategy, but they should learn from the Americans because otherwise they will accelerate the energy transition and we will have problems,” Imaz warned.
He stated that the oil company “will take advantage of this reality” from the projects you already have in United States and also to analyze the possibility of producing hydrogen on this continent, although he also pointed out the importance of invest in Spain for the company.
Debt and dividend
The solid figures of 2022 allowed the company to reduce its net debt by 61% compared to the previous year, until 2,256 million euros, as well as increasing a 11% cash remuneration in 2023, until the 0.70 gross euros per share (advances the target for 2024).
It will also increase the average remuneration of its employees by 9.4% (€63,000) and plans to buy back 200 million shares at the end of 2022, with buybacks and stock redemptions over three years.
In this sense, the Board of Directors approved in 2023 the implementation of a new program to repurchase own shares with a maximum of 35 million shares and proposes a capital reduction at the next general meeting by repurchasing 50 million own shares.
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In addition to two bonus numbers, the company defended its social contribution to help its customers with a discount additional in non-combustible products, valid from the beginning of April to the end of December, and which will continue to be offered until March 31 with an impact for the company of 500 million euros, as well as some 2,000 million destined to increase its stocks to guarantee the supply in Spain , in a context of tension in the international markets.
Furthermore, during the year, the company ddecided to provide 2,485 million euros for him “book value impairment”, mainly from refineries, “whose long-term profitability and competitiveness would be affected by costly aspects of the unrectified future sector “Europe, business climate unstable and regulatory and financial pressures.”