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MILAN (Reuters) – Italian energy contractor Saipem on Wednesday raised its full-year guidance and confirmed its plan to resume dividend payments next year, after beating expectations for third-quarter results.
The group reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 340 million euros ($366 million) between July and September, above an analyst consensus of 323 million euros compiled by LSEG.
Projects awarded by Qatar and Saudi Arabia helped new contracts reach 6.4 billion euros in the quarter.
Saipem now expects its 2024 sales to exceed 14 billion euros, up from a previous range of between 12.7 billion and 13.3 billion euros.
EBITDA for 2024 is expected to exceed 1.3 billion euros and capital expenditure for 2024 is seen lower than 400 million euros.
“Saipem confirms its dividend policy of distributing approximately between 30% and 40% of free cash flow post repayment of lease liabilities, with the first dividend expected to be paid in 2025 on the back of 2024 results,” it said in a statement.
In September Saipem won an offshore contract worth around $2 billion for the development of the Marjan oil field in Saudi Arabia.
It was also awarded other offshore contracts with Saudi Aramco, worth about $1 billion in total, and an offshore contract worth $4 billion with QatarEnergy, one of the world’s top LNG suppliers.
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(Reporting by Francesca Landini; Editing by Christina Fincher)