Equinor Announces $5 Billion Buyback and Adjusts Renewables Investment Amid Rising Fossil Fuel Output

Equinor ASA (NYSE: EQNR) shares experienced a decline following the release of the company's fourth-quarter results for FY24.

Equinor reported a revenue of $27.654 billion, which reflects a 5% decrease compared to the previous year. Adjusted revenue saw a more significant decline of 7%, totaling $26.418 billion, slightly above the consensus estimate of $25.973 billion.

The company's total liquids and gas production fell by 6% year-over-year, averaging 2,072 mboe per day. Specifically, equity liquids production dropped to 1,081 mboe per day, representing a 6% fall, while equity gas production decreased by 5% to 991 mboe per day.

In the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS), production held steady due to the ramp-up of the Breidablikk project and new gas wells. However, there was an overall year-over-year decline attributed to natural production decreases, a Sleipner B outage, and scheduled maintenance activities.

The average price for liquids fell by 10% compared to the previous year, averaging $68.50 per barrel, while the realized price for piped gas in the U.S. was reported at $2.36 per MMBtu.

In the renewables sector, Equinor generated 829 GWh of energy, marking a 19% increase year-over-year during the quarter.

Equinor's adjusted operating income for the quarter was reported at $7.90 billion, with contributions of $6.81 billion from E&P Norway, $303 million from E&P International, and $184 million from E&P USA.

Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.63, slightly outperforming the consensus forecast of $0.62.

In terms of operating cash flow, the company recorded $2.42 billion, down 12% from the previous year.

Dividend Declaration: The board of directors announced a fourth-quarter ordinary cash dividend of $0.37 per share, along with an extraordinary cash dividend of $0.35. This payment is scheduled for May 28, 2025, to shareholders recorded as of May 16, 2025.

Share Buyback Program: The board initiated the first phase of a share buyback program of up to $1.2 billion, which will continue until April 2, 2025. Additionally, Equinor unveiled plans for a $5 billion share buyback program for 2025, which will include shares redeemed from the Norwegian State, fulfilling a two-year strategy outlined in February 2024.

Future Outlook: Looking ahead, Equinor anticipates capital distributions to shareholders totaling up to $9 billion in 2025. The company aims to deliver a return on capital employed exceeding 15% by 2030.

Equinor also intends to enhance free cash flow, targeting $23 billion for the period from 2025 to 2027, primarily by reducing capital expenditures (capex) and operational costs.

The company projects an oil and gas production growth rate exceeding 10% from 2024 to 2027 but plans to lower its investments in renewables and low-carbon initiatives to $5 billion after securing necessary project financing.

Renewable capacity is expected to reach between 10 and 12 GW by 2030, while organic capital expenditures for 2025 are forecasted at $13 billion, with oil and gas output expected to increase by 4% compared to 2024 levels.

Equinor President and CEO Anders Opedal stated, “Equinor is well positioned for further growth and competitive shareholder returns. We expect to deliver industry-leading returns on average capital employed, exceeding 15% through 2030.” He also noted, “Our production outlook for oil and gas has been revised upward, anticipating more than 10% growth from 2024 to 2027.”

Opedal emphasized the importance of systematically improving their producing assets to provide safe and reliable energy and mentioned that the 2025 production from the Johan Sverdrup field is expected to align closely with levels experienced in the past two years.

Investors interested in Equinor might consider exposure through various fund options.

Price Movement: Following this announcement, EQNR shares were reported down 3.5% at $23.90 during premarket trading on Wednesday.

Equinor, buyback, renewables