OREANDA-NEWS.  Repsol posted net income of 1.327 billion euros in the first half of the year, an increase of 47% from the year-earlier period. This reflects a good performance of the company’s businesses as well as the success in securing a compensation agreement for the expropriation of YPF.

Adjusted net income at current cost of supply was 922 million euros, in line with the year-earlier period. The start-up of new production projects, the strength of the downstream businesses and an improved performance from the corporate area made up for the effect on the upstream operations of temporary output halts in Libya.

During the semester, Repsol reached a compensation agreement over the expropriation of YPF and YPF Gas, receiving bonds from the Republic of Argentina which were sold to JPMorgan for almost USD 5 billion. Repsol also sold its remaining 12.38% stake in YPF for USD 1.3 billion.

Repsol’s strong performance and its financial solidity were recognised by the international ratings agencies, which raised the company’s credit ratings. In addition, analysts incorporated the company’s potential into their assessments and increased their target price and recommendations on the stock.

Of the analysts that follow the company, 97.6% have hold or buy recommendations on the stock, the highest proportion amongst the largest European oil companies1. The company’s average target price rose by 5% in the first half of the year to 21.45 euros per share.

Repsol’s Board of Directors agreed to a proposal made by the Chairman to pay an extraordinary dividend of one euro per share gross to shareholders following the successful recovery of the value of YPF. This remuneration was in addition to the final dividend from 2013 earnings, paid under the Repsol Flexible Dividend formula. In the latter, 75.84% of shareholders agreed to be paid in shares, a demonstration of confidence in the company’s future.

With these payments, Repsol’s dividend-per-share return for the year is above 10% and the highest amongst the Ibex-35 companies.

Shareholder remuneration has been accompanied by a significant reduction in debt. At the end of the first half, net debt declined 55.4% from the end of the previous year to 2.392 billion euros. As the same time, Repsol has 11.195 billion euros in available liquidity.
New management structure

The Board of Directors at the end of April approved, at the behest of the Chairman and with a favourable report from the Nomination and Compensation Committee, a significant remodelling of the executive team’s structure to provide the leadership for the new challenges and opportunities facing the company. Especially relevant is the appointment as Chief Executive Officer of Josu Jon Imaz.

With the new organisation, the Repsol Group reinforces the management of its business units so that the company has the optimum structure to generate new growth opportunities, organic as well as inorganic, in line with its principles of profitability, responsibility, sustainability and future.

Discoveries and downstream profitability

Hydrocarbons production was 340,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day for the first half of the year, of which 26,800 boepd was new output, which offset the temporary production loss in Libya and maintenance work in Trinidad & Tobago. Production in Libya resumed in early July, where the company is keeping its installations operative to recover output as soon as possible.

Between January and June the company added new barrels to its output from Bolivia, Brazil, Peru. Russia and the United Stated. Especially significant is the start-up in March of the Kinteroni project in Peru and full production from the first phase of the Sapinhoa field development in Brazil. The operating consortium has already begun the installation of the second FPSO in the giant Brazilian field which will more-than double output capacity in 2015.

With the new start-ups, Repsol has begun production in seven of its ten key growth projects: Sapinhoa (Brazil), Mid-Continent (USA), AROG (Russia), Margarita-Huacaya (Bolivia), Lubina and Montanazo (Spain), Carabobo (Venezuela) and the aforementioned Kinteroni (Peru). The company is working on the start-up of the large Cardуn IV gas field in Venezuela, which will add more than 20,000 boepd to Repsol’s production in 2015, increasing further over the next few years.

In addition, Repsol has continued its successful exploratory activity which resulted in a 275% reserve replacement ratio (RRR) in 2013, which was a new organic record for the company and the highest amongst its peers in 2013. The discovery in Trinidad &Tobago in July adds to the incorporation of 240 million barrels of oil equivalent of recoverable resources in Russia from the Gabi-1 and Gabi-3 wells, the largest discovery made in Russia in the last two years. The company also made discoveries in Brazil’s prolific Campos Basin, in the Seat 2 well, and also in the Qugruk-5 and Qugruk-7 wells in Alaska.

The Downstream unit’s asset quality and positioning has allowed the company to increase operating profit by 102 million euros from the year-earlier period. The refining margin rose 9.4% to USD 3.5 per barrel, despite continuing pressure on margins throughout Europe. The investments made to improve the Cartagena and Bilbao refineries, which turned them into a reference in the industry, have resulted in significantly better margins, protecting employment and viability at these installations despite the difficult environment for the business in Europe.

Sales from the chemicals business also increased and the company extracted value from its engineering and technical capabilities. The company’s Gas & Power unit posted an improved result as gas sales in North America increased.

Regarding the Gas Natural Fenosa Group, the adjusted net income for the first half of 2014 was 282 million euros, a 12% gain from the previous year. This was due to the extraordinary gain from the sale of the telecommunications business as well as improved results from wholesale gas sales in Spain.


Half-yearly highlights

On March 31, Repsol started gas production in the Kinteroni field, one of the ten key projects included in its 2012-2016 Strategic Plan. The field will initially produce 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, which is expected to double by 2016. Kinteroni is located in block 57, east of Peru's Andes mountain range, and is one of the most promising gas-prone exploratory plays in Peru. In 2012 Repsol made another large discovery in the area, Sagari. Preliminary estimates indicate the field may hold resources of between 2 and 3 TCF (trillion cubic feet) of gas.


In the first half of the year, Repsol made two new hydrocarbons discoveries in Russia. The recoverable resources from the Gabi-1 and Gabi-3 wells are estimated at 240 million barrels of oil equivalent, which means a considerable addition to the resources Repsol currently holds in Russia. The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, Sergei Donskoi said this find is the biggest made in Russia in the last two years. The discoveries confirm Repsol’s expectations of its Russian operations, where it is developing one of its key strategic projects, the AROG joint venture.

On July 3, Repsol made a new hydrocarbons discovery offshore Trinidad & Tobago. The estimated resources from the well are around 40 million barrels, which increases the field’s current reserves, extends its productive life and adds new output. The find, denominated TB14, adds to the start-up of the TB13 well, which added 1,384 boepd to the field’s output. The new wells add 24% to the TSP block’s existing production, which averaged 10,900 boepd during 2013.

At the start of May Repsol received from the Republic of Argentina sovereign bonds in as the means of payment of compensation for the expropriation of YPF and YPF Gas. Later, between May 9 and May 23, the company sold the bonds for almost USD 5 billion to JP Morgan in several deals.

In parallel to these operations and during the same month, Repsol sold its remaining 12.38% YPF stake, for an additional USD 1.316 billion. With these transactions Repsol completed the sale process of its assets in Argentina and reinforced of the company’s financial position, achieving total revenue of 6.313 billion dollars.

On May 15, Fitch Ratings agency, upgraded Repsol’s Long-term Issuer Default Rating from BBB- to BBB. Later, on May 20th, Moody’s Investors Service also announced its decision to upgrade Repsol’s long term rating to Baa2 from Baa3, and the short term rating to Prime 2 from Prime 3, both with stable outlook.

On March 28, Repsol’s Annual General Meeting agreed to pay the final dividend corresponding to 2013 earnings under the scrip dividend program, the same way this has been done during the last years. Of this payment, made in July, 75.84% stakeholders chose to receive shares, which demonstrates their trust in the future of the company.

Additionally, on May 28, 2014, the Board of Directors of Repsol, agreed to distribute an extraordinary dividend of one euro per share gross, to share with shareholders the successful recovery of the value of YPF. The payment of this dividend, which will be reflected in this year’s earnings, was made on June 6, 2014.

On April 30, Repsol’s Board of Directors approved, at the behest of the Chairman and with a favourable report from the Nomination and Compensation Committee, a significant remodeling of the executive team’s structure to provide the leadership for the new challenges and opportunities facing the company. Especially relevant is the appointment as Chief Executive Officer of Josu Jon Imaz San Miguel.

On March 14, Repsol created an Advisory Committee comprised by minority shareholders to foster transparency and establish a two-way channel of communication between the company’s management team and its minority shareholders, a pioneering initiative that is the first of its kind among the energy companies of Spain’s Ibex 35 Index. Creating the Advisory Committee is the result of an initiative taken by the Board of Directors of Repsol and is part of the Repsol investor relations policy.

On May 12, Repsol celebrated the 25th anniversary of its flotation on the stock exchange. Over the past 25 years Repsol has paid 16.019 billion euros in dividends, while the company’s market capitalization has increased 8.5 times to 26.338 billion euros. Repsol currently has around 500,000 small investors that represent approximately 12% of its outstanding shares.