Italian oil and gas giant Eni said on Friday its net profit slid 33 per cent in the first quarter as oil and gas prices fell from peaks seen at the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The net profit of €2.39 billion euros fell short of the analyst consensus estimate from financial information provider Factset, which anticipated profit of €2.54 billion. 

Eni's shares fell 1.3 per cent in morning trading while Milan's FTSE Mib index was down 1.8 per cent overall. 

Adjusted net profit – which excludes exceptional items – fell by 11 per cent to €2.9 billion, in what the company said was due to "lower oil and gas prices and the UK energy profit levy". That windfall tax imposed in May is aimed at the vast profits enjoyed by energy companies to help fund benefits to households. 

CEO Claudio Descalzi praised Eni's performance "despite a weakening scenario", thanks in particular to the "recovery in hydrocarbon production".

Last year, Eni posted its best net profit in more than two decades, at €13.8 billion, a result boosted by soaring gas and oil prices in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

The decline in oil prices in recent months has weighed on the entire sector. The price of a barrel of North Sea Brent crude averaged $81.27 in the first quarter, a drop of 20 per cent from the same period last year, Eni said.

The decline in oil prices in recent months has weighed on the entire sector

Revenues slumped by 15 per cent in the quarter to €27.18 billion, after having more than doubled in the year-ago first quarter.

Eni's hydrocarbon production steadied at 1.65 million barrels per day (mbpd) in the first quarter, after falling by four per cent in 2022.

Eni forecasts 2023 hydrocarbon production of 1.63 to 1.67 million barrels per day. 

In its 2023-2026 strategic plan, Eni confirmed its goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 35 per cent by 2030 compared to 2018 and by 80 per cent through 2040, before reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. 

The company has begun to balance its portfolio with the increased development of renewable energy activities.

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