• Third-quarter profit beats expectations
• Buyback lifted by 20%
• Hydrocarbon production up 6% year on year

MILAN, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Italian energy group Eni (ENI.MI) , opens new tab said on Friday it would increase its share buyback by 20% after better-than-expected third-quarter results.

The company reported an adjusted net profit of 1.25 billion euros ($1.46 billion) in the third quarter, beating an analyst consensus of 1.02 billion euros and coming in just below the 1.27 billion-euro profit posted in the same period of last year.

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Eni said it would raise its full-year 2025 share buyback by 20% to 1.8 billion euros.

BUYBACK INCREASE BUCKS INDUSTRY TREND

The move comes a few weeks after Eni's bigger rival TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab said it would cut its share repurchases from the fourth quarter to contend with lower oil prices. BP (BP.L) , opens new tab and Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab have also reduced buybacks this year.

The Italian group said it could improve investor reward thanks to the disposal of minority stakes in a number of businesses and projects that had attracted interest from funds and industrial partners.

It had also put costs under tight control to response to a fall in oil and gas prices.

Efficiency measures are now expected to have a beneficial effect of 4 billion euros in the full year from a previous estimate of 3 billion euros.

Pro-forma group leverage - measuring total debt in relation to equity and taking into account proceeds from agreed disposals - stands at around 12%, near historic lows.

STRONG HYDROCARBON PRODUCTION

"Strong (hydrocarbon) production growth allows us to raise our annual guidance towards 1.72 million barrels per day, confirming the acceleration trend continuing in the coming months thanks to the new fields under development in Congo, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Libya," said CEO Claudio Descalzi.

He added that the creation of a joint venture with Petronas in Indonesia and Malaysia is expected to create one of the main players on Asia's liquefied natural gas market.

Hydrocarbon production in the third quarter was equal to 1.756 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, 6% higher than last year and above an analyst consensus.

Eni lifted to its estimates for full-year cash generation to 12 billion euros from 11.5 billion.

($1 = 0.8575 euros)

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/eni-ups-share-buyback-after-better-than-expected-q3-results-2025-10-24/