Major Italian oil company, Eni SPA, ended 2020 with a liquidity reserve position of approximately $24.7 billion (€20.4 billion).
The liquidity reserve of Eni as at December 31, 2020 comprised $11.39 billion (€9.4 billion) of cash and cash equivalents, $6.66 billion (€5.5 billion) of readily disposable securities, $242 million (€0.2 billion) of short-term financing receivables and $6.42 billion (€5.3 billion) of committed undrawn credit facilities.
Presenting the company’s 2020 results and Strategic Plan for 2021 to 2024, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Eni, Claudio Descalzi, posited Eni is well equipped to withstand uncertain trading environments in 2021.
Mr Descalzi attributed Eni’s strong liquidity reserve position to decisive actions taken by management to preserve the company’s liquidity and to strengthen the balance sheet, while aiming to increase the profitability of its operations and financial resilience in the face of the Covid-19 crisis.
“In the space of a few months after the outbreak of the pandemic we reduced capital spending and limited the impact of the sharp drop in crude oil prices on the cash flow, strengthening our liquidity and preserving the robustness of our balance sheet. The fourth quarter operating profit and net profit outperformed estimates, achieved through a 44 $/barrel oil price, underpinned by our operating cash generation and the effectiveness of our response to the crisis,” he stated.
Eni through leverage – borrowing – was able to finance its capital expenditure for 2020 with an adjusted cash flow of $8.12 billion (€6.7 billion) and a surplus of $2.06 billion (€1.7 billion).
The $8.12 billion (€6.7 billion) adjusted cash flow falls below an initial $13.93 billion (€11.5 billion) expected cash flow at a Brent price of $60/barrel, attributed to lower hydrocarbon prices and the impact of COVID-19.
Eni despite ending 2020 with a strong liquidity reserve recorded a net loss of $869 million.
Read further details on Eni’s performance for the 2020 fiscal year:
Eni Fourth Quarter 2020 Ceo Claudio Descalzi Comments Results by Fuaad Dodoo on Scribd