OSLO: Norwegian oil firm Statoil reported first-quarter earnings above expectations on Tuesday due to higher prices and good results from shale gas activities in the United States. Statoil said its adjusted operating profit rose to 46.0 billion crowns ($7.66 billion) from 42.4 billion crowns for the same period a year ago.
The result beat the 42.02 billion crown expectation of analysts in a Reuters poll.
"Higher prices and good results from our US gas value chain contributed to a 9 percent increase in adjusted earnings," Statoil CEO Helge Lund said in a statement.
Stateoil repeated its commitment to cut costs to boost margins.
Norway's energy giant was the first among its peers to promise specific cost cuts as the oil and gas industry goes into a new phase of protecting margins.
In February, Statoil said it would slash spending by $5 billion in 2014-2016, an 8 percent reduction from earlier expenditure plans, so the company could pay more to shareholders.
Investors have liked the message: shares in Statoil are up 18 percent since the beginning of the year while the European oil and gas index is up 4 percent.
On Tuesday, the firm offered a dividend payment of 1.80 crowns per share for the quarter as expected.
The firm's total equity production averaged 1.978 million barrels of oil equivalents per day in the quarter, slightly above expectations for 1.966 million barrels.
The firm repeated its guidance for 2014.
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