France's TotalEnergies to buy back shares as oil, gas prices boom

PARIS (Reuters) - France's TotalEnergies said on Thursday it would use part of its cash flow for share buybacks, echoing moves by peers like Royal Dutch Shell as rising oil and gas prices boosted profits in the second quarter.

TotalEnergies, which has been investing heavily in shifting its focus to renewable energy and electricity production, said its adjusted net income progressed further in the April to June period, reaching $3.5 billion.

Its adjusted net income was almost wiped out a year ago at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group said it expected to generate more than $25 billion in cash flow this year, and would invest in more new projects in areas like renewable power and return surplus amounts to shareholders if oil prices remained high.

"The board of directors decided to allocate up to 40% of the additional cash flow generated above $60 per barrel to share buybacks," TotalEnergies said in a statement.

It said it would also pay a second interim dividend of 0.66 euros per share for 2021, stable from the first quarter.

Shell on Thursday launched a $2 billion share buyback programme and increased its dividend.

(Reporting by Sarah White Editing by Edmund Blair and Mark Potter)