Eni says Q4 earnings were ‘excellent’ yet loses market share in Italy
Despite what it described as an unfavorable trading environment, Italian state oil company Eni has obtained ‘excellent’ financial results in the fourth quarter of 2014 yet a closer look at the company’s situation shows that at home it is losing market share in a market that has been contracting.
“In spite of an unfavorable trading environment, Eni delivered excellent results in the fourth quarter, underpinned by record cash flow generation over the last six years,” said company CEO Claudio Descalzi.
However, retail sales in Italy were down by 3.8% mainly driven by strong competitive pressure. Eni’s retail market share dropped by 1.2 percentage points to 24.7% in the fourth quarter, compared to 25.9% in the same quarter of the previous year, Eni said.
In 2014, Eni’s retail market share decreased by two percentage points to 25.5%, from 27.5% in 2013, it added.
