Spain oil group Repsol says quarterly profits down 44%

Spanish oil giant Repsol said Thursday its net profit tumbled nearly 44 percent to 292 million euros ($320 million) in the second quarter after exceptional boosts last year.

The global firm increased its production and oil-refining revenues in the second quarter by buying Canadian energy company Talisman, which it integrated into Repsol in May, an earnings statement said.

That partially offset the impact of lower production in Libya, a key oil-drilling country stricken by conflict.

Repsol said its oil production rose by 55 percent to 525,000 barrels a day in the second quarter.

But its net profits could not match those of a year ago, when the company got an exceptional boost from selling off its operations in Argentina.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebita) -- a key raw measure of financial performance -- rose in the second quarter of 2015 by 38.6 percent to 1.42 billion euros.

Oil companies have been hit by plunging crude prices over recent months, with some indexes falling by nearly half this year.

"This sudden fall in international prices had an impact on the income of the upstream area," Repsol said.

"The unit posted a loss of 238 million euros, which was also influenced by the interruption of production in Libya."

But Repsol recorded surging profits of 973 million euros from its downstream refining and chemicals activities.