“The Board of Directors will propose at the Shareholders’ Meeting the distribution of a final 2023 dividend of €0.79 per share, resulting in an increase of 7.1% for the ordinary 2023 dividend compared to the ordinary 2022 dividend, to €3.01 per share.”
Dear Shareholders,
2024 is a special year for TotalEnergies, because the Company is celebrating its centenary! TotalEnergies was founded in 1924, after the First World War, under the name Compagnie Française des Pétroles. France had scarcely any oil or gas reserves; the country needed a “national oil policy” and secure energy supply. Over the last hundred years, we have never stopped surpassing ourselves as we adapted to the changing market, met our customers’ expectations and successfully faced technological challenges to produce affordable energy.
Since 2020, we have been firmly committed to the energy transition. To that end, your Company is deploying a balanced transition strategy combining profitable growth and sustainable development, anchored on two pillars: responsible production of oil and gas, notably LNG, which are the energies of today, with sharp reductions in greenhouse gas emissions; and electricity, mainly renewable, the energy at the heart of the transition.
In 2023, TotalEnergies generated adjusted net income of $23.2 billion and cash flow of $35.9 billion. IFRS net income came to $21.4 billion (€19.8 billion). Moreover, in 2023 as in 2022, TotalEnergies was the most profitable of the energy majors, with a return on capital employed of 19%, and simultaneously the biggest investor in the energy transition.
We invested $16.8 billion in 2023, including 35% in low-carbon energies, essentially electricity. The Company’s dividend payout was up by 7.1%, and we completed $9 billion in share buybacks, $1.5 billion of which came from our Canadian asset disposals. We further reduced net debt, which now stands at $6 billion, for gearing of 5%. In 2023, the total shareholder payout represented 46.0% of cash flow.
In accordance with the shareholder return policy announced in September 2023 targeting >40% CFFO payout on a through-cycle basis, your Board of Directors will propose at the Shareholders’ Meeting the distribution of a final 2023 dividend of €0.79 per share, resulting in an increase of 7.1% for the ordinary 2023 dividend compared to the ordinary 2022 dividend, to €3.01 per share. Furthermore, your Board of Directors has confirmed a shareholder return policy for 2024 targeting over 40% of cash flow, which will combine an increase in interim dividends of 6.8% to €0.79 per share and $2 billion of share buybacks in the first quarter, which will remain the base level for quarterly buybacks in the current environment.
Thank you for your trust in us and your loyalty.