Slashing Capital Spending May Save Total's Dividend
To say Paris-based Total S.A. (NYSE: TOT) has experience with plummeting oil prices would be putting it lightly. After the 2016 oil price rout, Total's management understood how to better prepare itself for the next time oil prices fell. But investors in Total may wonder how much room the company has left before further cuts start endangering its dividend.
In an announcement directed toward its workers but given a worldwide public audience likely intended to instill confidence in investors, Total announced it is slashing its CAPEX budget by $3.3 billion. This amount equates to nearly 20% of the capital budget for 2020. This $3.3 billion cut to CAPEX was divided up by operating segment, as shown in the pie chart below.
Source Fool.com