TotalEnergies booked loss in France due to refining activities, CEO says
French oil major TotalEnergies did not pay corporate tax in France last year because its operations in the country led to a loss of between €200 MM ($237.22 MM) and €300 MM, its chief executive said on French television on Friday.
CEO Patrick Pouyanne was questioned on how Total, which on Wednesday reported 2025 adjusted net income of $15.6 B, escaped France's corporate surtax on large companies — a measure that was supposed to be temporary but has been rolled over into the 2026 budget as France struggles with high debt.
"It so happens that in France our refining activities suffered enormously in the first six months of the year ... and this activity was loss-making, with a fiscal deficit of €200 MM–€300 MM," Pouyanne said on TV station TF1's Ecorama show.
"Globally our tax rate is 40%, which is higher than the French rates, so I'm not one to be given lessons ...and we were the largest contributor to the French tax on share buybacks, with around €180 MM," he added.
The CEO warned that taxing large companies to balance France's budget would lead to an investment pullback.
($1 = €0.8431)
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