Eni's coronavirus-driven losses foreshadow tough times for oil industry

The big multinational oil-and-gas company Eni posted a roughly $3.15 billion net loss for the quarter on Friday, citing the combined effect of the "ongoing economic recession" due to coronavirus and low prices.

Why it matters: It's a sign of what's to come for the sector in this earnings period and going forward for a while.

• Bloomberg notes that it "provides signals for the rest of the industry, with the worst impact of oil’s historic plunge likely in the coming quarters."
• However, Eni said it expects a "gradual recovery in global consumption of oil, natural gas and power in the second half of the year."

Driving the news: The Italy-based company also deepened its planned capital spending cuts. It now expects to cut spending by 30% this year compared to prior plans and 30%-35% next year.

What's next: Larger oil-and-gas majors like will report their Q1 results over the next couple of weeks. U.S.-based majors Exxon and Chevron both report next Friday.

Go deeper:

• Eni cuts output target, slashes 2020 capex 30% over COVID-19 (S&P Global Platts)
• Big Oil investors to look past earnings pain and focus on dividends (Reuters)