Eni increases buyback as second-quarter profit hits 3-yr high

Eni said it may pay an extra dividend in the fourth quarter if the price of Brent oil remained substantially above its forecasts.

Results were boosted by growth in the group's upstream business, progress at biofuel division Enilive and a spike in energy prices triggered by the conflict between the United States and Iran.

Hydrocarbon production rose 7% year-on-year to 1.789 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day in the second quarter, leading the company to improve its full-year growth target to 5% from a previous 3%-4%.

Proforma adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) at Eni's exploration and production (E&P) division came in at €4.77 billion, above an analysts' estimate of €3.01 billion.

"We are successfully scaling our E&P business for the next phase of growth and value creation," CEO Claudio Descalzi said in a statement.

He cited the start of the Searah joint venture across Indonesia and Malaysia as well as "several project advancements and expansion in new geographies."

($1 = 0.8773 euros)

Italian energy group Eni on Wednesday lifted its share buyback programme by €600 million to €3.4 billion ($3.9 billion) after reporting better than expected second-quarter results.

The state-controlled company's adjusted net profit more than doubled in the April-June period to €2.3 billion, beating an analyst consensus of €2.09 billion compiled by the group and hitting its highest level in three years.