Supporters of Climax painted and shattered the windows on the facade of Galp’s new headquarters this Tuesday morning. The movement accuses the company of being a “murderer”.
“Galp: neither here nor anywhere” was the phrase they painted on the building’s facade to denounce the “murderous business” of the fissile fuel company.
“It is intolerable that, in the midst of the climate crisis, companies like Galp continue to have carte blanche to perpetuate the mass murder of people around the world through the incessant burning of fossil fuels”, says Inês Teles, spokesperson for the action.
Inês Teles adds that “breaking the windows” at Galp headquarters is acting in “self-defense against a colonial and murderous company”, which is advancing “deadly projects for the extraction of fossil fuels in countries like Mozambique and Namibia”.
In the statement sent to newsrooms, the movement states that 2023 was the second consecutive year in which Galp “broke the profit record”, reaching 1,002 million euros and distributing 425.06 million to shareholders.
“We cannot continue to allow new fossil projects, not here or anywhere. The only future for Galp has to be the dismantling and holding the company responsible for the destruction it is causing: Galp’s resources must be used not to fill shareholders’ pockets, but to pay for the necessary energy transition, which must begin now, and which must place the company’s workers and affected communities at the center of decision-making”, argues Inês Teles.
Climáximo calls on society to “enter into resistance against the destruction carried out in a coordinated and conscious manner by governments and companies”.
“Galp and other destructive companies will not stop burning fossil fuels and give up their murderous profits of their own free will, nor will they be stopped by Governments that are their accomplices. We, ordinary people, are the ones who have to stop them”, concludes the Climáximo spokesperson.
Galp Energia’s profit rises 35% to 337 ME in the 1st quarter
Galp Energia achieved a profit of 337 million euros in the first quarter of 2024, 35% above the 250 million euros in the same period last year and compared to 284 million in the previous quarter.
In a statement sent to the Securities Market Commission (CMVM), the oil company states that it “presented a robust set of results, driven by a solid performance in the ‘upstream’ [exploração e produção] and in refining and for the contribution of energy management activities”.
The group’s profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was 974 million euros in the first quarter, compared to 864 million in the same quarter last year and 720 million in the previous three months as a whole.
At the end of the first quarter, Galp’s net debt amounted to 1,500 million euros, 12% above the 1,341 million euros recorded in the first quarter of last year, and the net debt over adjusted EBITDA was 0.4 times.
The refining margin fell to 12 dollars per barrel, compared to 14.3 dollars per barrel in the first quarter of 2023.
The adjusted operational cash flow (FCO) registered a year-on-year increase from 363 million to 595 million euros, “reflecting a solid operational performance”, said Galp.
In the area of exploration and production (‘upstream’), Galp’s Ebitda rose 8% to 548 million euros, year-on-year, while in the industrial segment Ebitda increased 34% to 314 million euros.
In renewable energy and new business, the oil company recorded an Ebitda of 35 million euros and more than doubled energy generation to 448 gigawatts/hour (GWh), compared to the same period of the previous year.
In the commercial area, Ebitda fell 9% to 64 million euros, reflecting the decline in the sale of petroleum products, especially to business customers in Spain, and renewables (-75% to nine million euros).
In the first quarter, electricity prices in wholesale markets reached particularly low prices, affecting companies such as Galp.
In the first quarter, Galp’s net investment almost tripled to 310 million euros, much of it directed to Brazil and Namibia.
“In Namibia, together with our two local partners, Namcor and Custos, we significantly de-risked the Mopane complex after completing the first two wells and the DST at Mopane 1X. We found significant columns of light oil in high reservoir conditions. quality, placing Mopane as a potential major commercial discovery”, recalled Galp’s executive president, Filipe Silva, in the statement.
The person in charge also stated that “this should support Galp’s growth profile in the coming decades”.
