UBS profits soar

TotalEnergies, UBS profits soar thanks to oil price swings

By Hanna Ziady

Profits at French energy company TotalEnergies and Swiss bank UBS have jumped as a result of higher oil prices and heightened market volatility because of the Iran war.

TotalEnergies today reported a 29% jump in earnings for the first three months of the year to $5.4 billion, partly driven by the oil price move. However, the war has forced the energy major to shut some oil and natural gas production in the Middle East, affecting about 15% of the group’s total output.

Yesterday rival oil company BP reported its profits more than doubled in the first three months of the year as its traders made the most of wild swings in oil prices. The war-related boon has fuelled calls for windfall taxes on energy companies to help offset the rising cost of gas and electricity for households.

UBS, meanwhile, posted an 80% surge in first-quarter profit to $3 billion, as financial market volatility drove client inflows and trading activity. “In the first quarter, we continued helping clients navigate a volatile and unpredictable geopolitical and market environment,” UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti said in an earnings statement. The bank’s shares jumped 4.5% in Zurich to 34.8 Swiss francs ($44).