EQNR - Equinor earnings top estimates on high gas production prices

Equinor ( NYSE: EQNR ) +1.5% in Friday's trading after reporting better than expected Q3 earnings , prompting the oil and gas producer to boost its extraordinary dividend .

Equinor ( EQNR ) said adjusted earnings - its preferred measure - surged to $24.3B from $9.77B in the year-earlier quarter, above $23.5B predicted in a company-compiled consensus.

Q3 net profit soared to $9.38B from $1.41B in the prior year period and well above $6.45B analyst consensus, and revenues surged 85% Y/Y to $42.7B.

Equinor's ( EQNR ) results were helped by all-time high prices for European natural gas, as the company's average realized European gas price was 60% higher in Q3 than in the prior quarter, while the average realized price for liquids fell 13%.

Q3 production totaled 2.02M boe/day, and the company trimmed its full-year outlook for production to grow by 1% compared to last year, down from a previous projection of 2% growth.

"Norway's and Equinor's role as a reliable energy provider is more important than ever," CEO Anders Opedal said, noting that Norway is providing record volumes of gas to Europe and warning that European Union proposals to cap the price of gas could be " counterproductive ."

Equinor's ( EQNR ) NYSE stock price return shows a 36% YTD gain and a 40% increase during the past year .

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