Eni SpA (E), Italy 's biggest oil and natural gas company by volume, Friday said first-quarter net profit climbed 17% on higher prices and production, and raised slightly its full-year forecast for output.

Eni said its 2010 daily hydrocarbon output would increase "slightly" from the 1.77 million barrels of oil equivalent it produced last year as it takes into account higher oil prices. The new projection is based on a Brent price of $76 a barrel, while the previous estimate saw flat output compared with 2009 and assumed a $65 a barrel price scenario.

The Rome-based company said net profit in the January-to-March period was EUR2.22 billion, compared with EUR1.90 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Eni said adjusted net profit gained 3.6% to EUR1.82 billion from EUR1.76 billion a year ago. The adjusted income figure is closely watched by analysts, who consider it a better performance measure because it excludes the often-volatile value of oil inventories.

Adjusted net profit was ahead of expectations of EUR1.76 billion, according to an average of nine analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires.

Eni's hydrocarbon output for the period averaged 1.82 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, up 2.1% from the 1.78 million posted in the first quarter of 2009. A Dow Jones Newswires survey forecast an average of 1.81 million.

Eni's shares gained after Friday's report beat expectations, forecast higher output for the year and showed lower debt, said Roberto Mascarello of Kepler Capital Markets in Geneva .

"The 2010 output increase is not very much but it is higher than an estimate given only a month ago," Mascarello said.

At 1422 GMT, Eni shares gained EUR0.10, or 1.1%, at EUR17.71, outperforming Italy 's benchmark FTSE Mib 0.6% climb.

Chief Financial Officer Alessandro Bernini, speaking on a conference call to comment first-quarter results, confirmed the company plans to pay a dividend of EUR1 per share on 2010 earnings, in line with the previous year.

Eni irked investors when it slashed its 2009 dividend as it looked instead to invest in exploration and production activities as part of the sector's drive to boost reserves. Eni's 2010-2013 forecast investments increased about 8% from the previous four-year plan.

Last month, Eni presented its new four-year plan in which it estimates average annual hydrocarbon output growth at more than 2.5% through 2013 with total investments at EUR52.8 billion.

In the next four years the Rome-based company forecasts it will bring into production 41 new fields. This will result in about 560,000 barrels of oil equivalent of new daily production in 2013, 75% of which will be operated by Eni.

Eni also is looking to add to its portfolio of assets. The company is "always looking for opportunities" for exploration acreage in Africa, especially those close to its existing operations, Claudio Descalzi, head of Eni's exploration and production division, said during the first-quarter conference call.

The company's net debt was EUR21.05 billion on March 31, down EUR2 billion from the end of 2009. Net debt-to-equity ratio fell to 0.39 from 0.46 on Dec. 31.

Eni has said it targets a net debt-to-equity ratio of about 0.40.

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