Royal Dutch Shell put rivals including BP in the shade today as the Anglo-Dutch giant produced forecast-busting results for the first quarter.
Shell’s 2% decline in profits to $5.4 billion (£4.1 billion) for the opening three months of 2019 was a much smaller fall than the City had predicted, aided by strong sales of liquid natural gas.
Lower oil prices and weaker refining margins put industry profitability under pressure at the start of 2019, with Shell’s London-listed rival BP also reporting weaker returns this week.
Shell chief Ben van Beurden said the performance showed the quality of the company’s new-look portfolio, having recently completed the sale of $30 billion of assets and investment in new, more attractive projects.
Buoyed by cashflows of $8.6 billion in the quarter, Shell continues to buy back shares. It intends to repurchase $25 billion by the end of next year, having already bought $6.75 billion since last summer. It expects another tranche of $2.75 billion by late July.
The shares rose more than 1% as today’s results beat forecasts for profits close to $4.5 billion. In 2018, higher oil prices helped Shell to deliver its best performance since 2014.
