The net loss in the three months to end-September was €952 million ($1.05 billion) compared with a net profit of €1.71 billion in the same period a year ago.
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“In the quarter, despite a weak oil price environment, Eni continued to deliver strong growth in upstream and important progress in restructuring the mid and downstream businesses”, he said in a statement.
Earlier today, 27 October 2015, Eni S.p.A. (“Eni”) executed a sale and purchase agreement (the “Sale and Purchase Agreement”), pursuant to which it will sell a stake in Saipem S.p.A. (“Saipem” or the “Company”) consisting of n. 55,176,364 ordinary shares, representing approximately 12.5% plus one share of the Company share capital (the “Transferred Stake”) to Fondo Strategico Italiano S.p.A. (“FSI”).
By ridding itself of the debt, Italy’s largest oil producer would be better placed to boost its credit rating, which was cut by several banks this year.
Saipem, which expects to post a full-year loss of 800 million euros, reported heavy writedowns in the second quarter that impacted Eni results.
Italian oil contractor Saipem said on Wednesday it will ask investors for up to 3.5 billion euros ($3.86 billion) of fresh capital to help it weather the oil service recession and plot a path to recovery as main investor Eni takes a step back.
Since taking the helm in May a year ago Descalzi has quickly moved the company’s focus onto the job of finding more oil and gas.
In August, the company announced the discovery of 30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas off the Egyptian coast, the largest discovery made in regional waters and potentially the largest in the world.
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At 0928 GMT Saipem shares were up 10 percent, with Eni gaining 1 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 oil and gas sector index was down 0.7 percent.
