Abu Dhabi national energy firm Taqa said yesterday its first-quarter pre-tax profits had nearly doubled to around £237million, from £162million a year ago.
Taqa, which operates in the North Sea through Aberdeenshire-based subsidiary Taqa Bratani, made a gain of nearly £64million by selling some non-core assets in Canada during the latest quarter. It also booked a one-off gain of £15.5million after a revaluation of the Otter field, which it acquired last year, in the UK North Sea. Taqa said its revenue for the latest period came in at £960million, up 5% on a year earlier.
o Oil prices were mixed in choppy trading yesterday as weaker-than-expected Chinese trade data, higher Opec output and a better picture for the US jobs market muddled the demand outlook. In London, ICE Brent crude for June settled down 27 cents at $112.73 a barrel while US crude rose 28 cents to settle at $97.08 a barrel.