TotalEnergies on Wednesday said its first quarter net profit rose 51 percent, boosted by a sharp spike in energy costs linked to the US-Israeli war on Iran. The announcement drew war-profiteering criticisms from climate groups and a call by France's opposition Socialist Party for a law on imposing a tax on crisis-related windfall profits.
Issued on: 29/04/2026 -
By: FRANCE 24
TotalEnergies reported a Q1 profit surge of more than 50 percent.
© Christophe Archambault, AFP (File
French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies said Wednesday net profit had risen 51 percent in the first quarter to $5.8 billion, boosted by higher oil prices linked to the war in the Middle East, drawing criticism from climate groups.
Growth in its oil and gas production in Brazil, Libya and Australia allowed the group to offset losses in the Gulf region, which is normally equivalent to 15 percent of its total oil and gas business, the company said in a statement.
It also highlighted its "ability to capitalise on rising prices".
The company's oil and gas production rose four percent in the quarter, with the amount of liquefied natural gas transported by sea gaining 12 percent.
TotalEnergies also said its trading arm had produced "a very strong performance".
In early April, the Financial Times reported that TotalEnergies had earned more than one billion dollars by buying almost all of the exportable oil cargoes in the Middle East, at a time when US-Israeli attacks on Iran had closed the key Strait of Hormuz and sent oil prices soaring.
"TotalEnergies' war profits highlight our persistent dependence on fossil fuels, whose soaring prices once again benefit shareholders at the expense of consumers," Antoine Bouhey, campaign coordinator at Reclaim Finance said in response.
Greenpeace France denounced a "cynical logic" while "households pay the high price at the pump".
New windfall profit tax proposed
Soaring gas prices have revived a political debate in Europe on taxing windfall profits made on high oil prices, an idea to which French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said in early April that he had "no objection in principle".
On Wednesday, Lecornu called on TotalEnergies to commit to redistributing windfall profits "one way or another".
"Exceptional results raise the question of an exceptional, proportionate redistribution ... one option being through fiscal means. No doors are closed," Lecornu told senators on Wednesday after the opposition Socialist Party proposed a law imposing a minimum 20% tax on crisis-related windfall profits.
Last year Total paid no French tax, as its trading profits are booked mostly in Switzerland while its French refineries were loss-making.
It has voluntarily capped prices at the pump at its French service stations since the crisis began.
The company said it was already doing so by limiting the increase in prices at the pump.
"That's how we redistribute our profits," TotalEnergies told AFP.
TotalEnergies also said it had partially restarted its Satorp refinery in eastern Saudi Arabia in mid-April, after it had shut the facility following air strikes in early April.
The group increased its dividend to 0.90 euros a share from 0.85 euros.
Shares in TotalEnergies were up 0.2 percent in late afternoon trading in Paris, where the bluechip CAC40 index was down 0.5 percent.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies said Wednesday net profit had risen 51 percent in the first quarter to $5.8 billion, boosted by higher oil prices linked to the war in the Middle East, drawing criticism from climate groups.
Growth in its oil and gas production in Brazil, Libya and Australia allowed the group to offset losses in the Gulf region, which is normally equivalent to 15 percent of its total oil and gas business, the company said in a statement.
It also highlighted its "ability to capitalise on rising prices".
The company's oil and gas production rose four percent in the quarter, with the amount of liquefied natural gas transported by sea gaining 12 percent.
TotalEnergies also said its trading arm had produced "a very strong performance".
In early April, the Financial Times reported that TotalEnergies had earned more than one billion dollars by buying almost all of the exportable oil cargoes in the Middle East, at a time when US-Israeli attacks on Iran had closed the key Strait of Hormuz and sent oil prices soaring.
"TotalEnergies' war profits highlight our persistent dependence on fossil fuels, whose soaring prices once again benefit shareholders at the expense of consumers," Antoine Bouhey, campaign coordinator at Reclaim Finance said in response.
Greenpeace France denounced a "cynical logic" while "households pay the high price at the pump".
New windfall profit tax proposed
Soaring gas prices have revived a political debate in Europe on taxing windfall profits made on high oil prices, an idea to which French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said in early April that he had "no objection in principle".
On Wednesday, Lecornu called on TotalEnergies to commit to redistributing windfall profits "one way or another".
"Exceptional results raise the question of an exceptional, proportionate redistribution ... one option being through fiscal means. No doors are closed," Lecornu told senators on Wednesday after the opposition Socialist Party proposed a law imposing a minimum 20% tax on crisis-related windfall profits.
Last year Total paid no French tax, as its trading profits are booked mostly in Switzerland while its French refineries were loss-making.
It has voluntarily capped prices at the pump at its French service stations since the crisis began.
The company said it was already doing so by limiting the increase in prices at the pump.
"That's how we redistribute our profits," TotalEnergies told AFP.
TotalEnergies also said it had partially restarted its Satorp refinery in eastern Saudi Arabia in mid-April, after it had shut the facility following air strikes in early April.
The group increased its dividend to 0.90 euros a share from 0.85 euros.
Shares in TotalEnergies were up 0.2 percent in late afternoon trading in Paris, where the bluechip CAC40 index was down 0.5 percent.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
