Total, the French oil company, on Wednesday announced a drop in profits of 54 per cent, but said that it had stemmed the fall in its production.

Total’s third-quarter adjusted net income, which strip out gains from changes in the value of fuel inventories and one-off items, was €1.87bn compared to €4.07bn in the same quarter last year. Its sales fell to €33.6bn from €48.8bn as oil prices tumbled.