Eni posted a 9.3 percent quarterly profit drop as Venezuelan oilfield nationalisation outweighed a strong gas and power performance, but the result topped forecasts and the Italian firm hiked its output target.
Eni, Europe's fourth-biggest energy company, had adjusted net profit of 2.68 billion euros ($3.63 billion) as oil and gas production shrank 5.1 percent, mainly because of Venezuela's seizure of the Dacion field last year.
A Reuters analyst poll had forecast adjusted net profit of 2.377 billion euros on average. Gas and power underpinned results, with a rise of almost 32 percent in adjusted net profit and a reversal of provisions. Eni shares ended up 1.7 percent to 24.86 euros as the DJ Stoxx oil and gas index rose 0.39 percent.
Eni raised its 2007-2010 production growth target to 4 percent a year from 3 percent following acquisitions in the Gulf of Mexico, the Congo Republic, and Alaska. Eni has spent about $11 billion on assets this year.
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