Oil giant Total profits plunge

French oil giant Total yesterday said net profit for the first quarter slumped 35 per cent to €2.1 billion. The decline was caused by the fall in the price of crude oil, the company said in a statement. The price of a barrel of crude, which hit $147...

French oil giant Total yesterday said net profit for the first quarter slumped 35 per cent to €2.1 billion. The decline was caused by the fall in the price of crude oil, the company said in a statement. The price of a barrel of crude, which hit $147 last summer, lost more than half its value between the third quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009. It has settled around $44.5 a barrel in the first three months of this year, against $96.7 a year earlier.

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