The company had posted profits of $9.1 billion in the first quarter of the previous year and $9.8 billion in the last quarter of 2022.
The higher-than-expected earnings came amid the same backdrop with a group of earnings that beat analysts’ expectations for industry rivals such as BP, Exxon Mobil and Equinor, as the sector continues to benefit from strong demand and price volatility. .
Lower natural gas prices in the first quarter hit Shell’s integrated gas business, with unit profit down 18% to $4.9 billion, but that was more than offset by a $139 billion increase. % of profit at $1.8 billion in the chemicals and duplicate products unit.
And at 0750 GMT, Shell shares were up 3.4% in trading on the London Stock Exchange.
Shell, the world’s largest LNG trader, said LNG production increased in the first quarter thanks to increased availability from its Prelude floating facility off the Australian coast.
The company kept its dividend unchanged at $0.2875 per share and kept the rate of its stock buyback program steady at $4 billion over the next three months. The company repurchased $19 billion in shares from the start of the year to the end of February, about twice. so many redemptions in pre-pandemic 2019.
Jefferies analyst Giacomo Romeo said in a note that Shell demonstrated “strong operational performance during the quarter across all divisions, with oil and gas trading playing a key role.”
The British company kept its 2023 capital expenditure plans unchanged within a range of $23 billion to $27 billion.
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