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Paris - French oil giant Total on Wednesday announced a 4% slide in net profit in the second quarter while increased output, costs savings and improved refinery margins helped offset plunging oil prices.
The group said it would exceed its projected €1.09bn in cost savings this year, adding that it sold off 20% of its Laggan-Tormore gas fields north of Scotland for nearly €800m.
Energy groups have been slashing their investments in a bid to shore up earnings, as crude prices have collapsed by about 60% since June 2014.
Total announced a net profit of $2.97bn in the April to June period, compared with $3.1bn in the second quarter of 2014.
Analyst predictions collated by FactSet had averaged $2.85bn.
"The 12% increase in production over the past year demonstrates that our growth strategy is working" despite the shutdown of Total's LNG gas terminal in conflict-torn Yemen "for security reasons," the group said in a statement.
Total owns 40% of the installation, which it closed in April.
The multi-national announced hydrocarbon production of 2.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day for the second quarter.
Production has been boosted by new projects and interests, including in Angola, Britain, Russia and Abu Dhabi.
Separately, Total announced that it had sold a 20% interest in its Laggan-Tormore natural gas field to British group Scottish and Southern Energy for €800m.
Total, which had held 80% of the field, announced in April its intention to sell 20% of it under its plan to shed $5.0bn in assets this year in the face of falling oil prices.
It intends to divest another $5.0bn by 2017.
Last month the group announced it was selling its 16.67% stake in the Schwedt refinery in northeastern Germany to Russia's Rosneft for $300m.
"Total is pursuing discussions for the sale of several other assets," the statement said.
