Riyadh Air Orders 60 Airbus A321neo Planes

Riyadh Air planes. Photo: Riyadh Air website
Riyadh Air planes. Photo: Riyadh Air website
TT

Riyadh Air Orders 60 Airbus A321neo Planes

Riyadh Air planes. Photo: Riyadh Air website
Riyadh Air planes. Photo: Riyadh Air website

Saudi Arabia's newest airline Riyadh Air said on Wednesday it had placed an order for 60 Airbus narrowbody A321-family jets as it prepares to start operations in 2025.

The deal, signed at the Future Investment Initiative forum in Riyadh, brings to 132 the total number of jets ordered by the Saudi startup, which last year ordered 39 Boeing 787 Dreamliners with options for 33 more.

The creation of Riyadh Air by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund is part of a broader Saudi strategy to diversify its economy and boost tourism.

“This deal underlines the airline’s ambitious intentions in advance of next year’s launch, as it builds a comprehensive international network and establishes Riyadh as a major strategic global aviation hub,” Yasir Al Rumayyan, governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and chairman of Riyadh Air, said.

CEO of Commercial Aircraft at Airbus Christian Scherer said: “The latest generation A321neo aircraft will bring exceptional efficiency to the airline's operations, concrete contributions to its decarbonization goals and comfort to its passengers. We look forward to working together to support the strong ambitions of Saudi aviation."



TotalEnergies Q3 Income Hits Three-year Low

(FILES) This photograph taken on October 5, 2022, shows a logo of Total Energies at a gas station in Genech, northern France. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
(FILES) This photograph taken on October 5, 2022, shows a logo of Total Energies at a gas station in Genech, northern France. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
TT

TotalEnergies Q3 Income Hits Three-year Low

(FILES) This photograph taken on October 5, 2022, shows a logo of Total Energies at a gas station in Genech, northern France. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
(FILES) This photograph taken on October 5, 2022, shows a logo of Total Energies at a gas station in Genech, northern France. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

French oil major TotalEnergies reported third-quarter adjusted net income at a three-year low of $4.1 billion on Thursday, slightly missing expectations as refining margins and upstream outages dragged down earnings.
Adjusted net income was down 37% from a year earlier and 12.7% lower from the previous quarter's $4.7 billion. The result just missed analyst expectations of $4.2 billion, Reuters reported.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell 23.6% year on year to $10 billion.
Earlier this month, TotalEnergies warned its financial results would take a hit as its margin for converting crude oil into refined fuels tumbled 65%.
Global refining margins have dropped sharply in recent months in the face of weaker economies and the start-up of several new refineries in Asia and Africa, while oil prices fell 17% in the quarter - the largest quarterly decline in a year - on worries about the global oil demand outlook.
TotalEnergies shares were down 1.5% in early trading. RBC analyst Biraj Borkhataria said Total reported "weaker cash generation relative to expectations", and that while "divisional estimates were broadly in line with consensus ... estimates have been falling following the recent trading update."
The company confirmed $2 billion in share buybacks for the fourth quarter and decided a third interim dividend of 0.79 euros per share for 2024.
In addition to a 83% drop in quarterly refining and chemicals division profits year-on-year, Total's integrated LNG division also made 21% less than the third quarter last year, with the company citing low gas market volatility as a hamper on trading profits. Integrated power, which includes renewables, was down 4% from a year ago.
TotalEnergies took a $1.1 billion impairment related to the August bankruptcy filing of US subsidiary SunPower, and its exit of several South African offshore blocks.
Quarterly hydrocarbon production of 2.4 million barrels of oil-equivalent per day was at the low end of guidance given at half year due to security-related disruptions in Libya and an outage at the Ichthys LNG plant in Australia.