(stltoday) -- Spain's Repsol energy company said Wednesday its fourth quarter profits fell 29 percent largely due to reduced production because of the Libya war.
Net profit adjusted for the current cost of supply a key earnings yardstick for oil companies which strips out one-time items and changes in the price of oil was Eur355 million (USD478 million) for the October-December period compared with euro499 million the year before.
Repsol YPF SA resumed operations in Libya in October after suspending production of a near capacity 350,000 barrels per day when the Libyan revolt started in mid-February. The suspension diminished income by Eur220 million (USD296 million) in the quarter, compared to the previous year, the company said.
Repsol said production in the north African country is currently at around 300,000 barrels per day.Adjusted net profit for the year was Eur1.9 billion (USD2.56 billion) compared to euro2.03 billion in 2010. The company also said strikes at its Argentina operations also dented earnings.
Upstream production was down by 14.4 percent mainly due to Libya and maintenance turnarounds in Trinidad and Tobago, Repsol said.The company said its fourth-quarter refining margin indicator in Spain plunged some 72 percent to euro0.8 a barrel compared to the same period in 2010.
When not adjusting for oil price changes and one-time items, fourth quarter net profit fell to Eur292 million from Eur2.9 billion a year earlier, when earnings were boosted by a big accounting gain on a deal with China's Sinopec in Brazil. Repsol's shares were down 0.5 percent at Eur20.5 (USD27.6) in midday trading in Madrid.