In a statement to the market regulator, Galp Energia reported that the adjusted annual net income totalled €707 million, 23 percent more than in 2017, and increased by 24 percent to €741 million, according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
In the fourth quarter of 2018, the profit decreased 42 percent in annual terms to €109 million (€44 million in IFRS).


The earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2018 increased by 24 percent in annual terms to €2.2 billion, almost two thirds of which came from exploration and production activities, a business that was responsible for less than half of the group’s total EBITDA the previous year, the company said.


In related news, Galp expects to boost capital investment around €1 billion in 2019 while oil and gas production is set to grow by between 8 percent and 12 percent - a lower rate of increase than that recorded in 2018.


In a statement to Portugal’s securities market commission, the CMVM, the company laid out its projections for 2019 and 2020 “following the update of the macroeconomic and operational context”.


Total working interest production of oil and gas is expected to increase by 8 percent to 12 percent in 2019, while the average aggregate rate of growth in the 2018-20 period should be between 12 percent and 16 percent, Galp said. In 2018 production rose
15 percent to an average annual value of 107,300 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) daily.


Operating profit should increase by a compound annual growth rate of 10 percent to 15 percent for the period 2018-20, with the last year in the series seeing a rise of 2 percent to €1.6 billion, according to the company.


Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) should be between €2.1 billion and €2.2 billion euros in 2019 and more than €3 billion from 2020, with growth driven by international activity. In 2018, Galp had EBITDA of €2.2 billion.


Estimated organic capital investment is seen at around €1 billion per year in 2019 and 2020, following 2018’s total of €899 million, which included the payment of €103 million for the acquisition of new assets in Brazil.