MILAN, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Italian energy group Eni

said on Thursday its fourth-quarter adjusted net profit

fell 46% from the previous year, hit by lower energy prices and

continued weakness at its refining and chemicals divisions.

The adjusted net profit came in at 892 million euros ($934

million) between October and December, below an analyst

consensus of 960 million euros compiled by the company and down

from 1.66 billion euros in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Eni said its pro-forma leverage, which measures total debt

in relation to equity taking into account also agreed disposals

yet to be completed, fell to 15% at the end of last year.

"Our portfolio actions mean our pro-forma leverage is now an

historically low 15%, enabling us to continue to invest in the

business and reward our shareholders through the cycle," CEO

Claudio Descalzi said in a statement.

Descalzi has developed a strategy based on dedicated

units - or satellites - that aim to independently access capital

markets to fund their growth.

In 2024 the group opened up the capital of both its

renewable and retails unit Plenitude and its biofuel company

Enilive prompting an investment, respectively, by Swiss asset

manager Energy Infrastructure Partners and U.S.-based KKR

.

Underlying cashflow from operations (CFFO) in the fourth

quarter beat the consensus forecast, coming in at 2.89 billion

euros.

Capital expenditures amounted to 2.7 billion euros, for

a full-year total of 8.8 billion euros, below the company's

guidance.

In the full-year, Eni reported, respectively, pro-forma

adjusted earnings before interest and tax of 14.3 billion euros,

and an adjusted cash flow of 13.6 billion euros, both above its

2024 guidance.

($1 = 0.9551 euros)

(Reporting by Francesca Landini, editing by Gianluca Semeraro

and Valentina Za)