London (AFP) – British oil and gas giant Shell on Thursday said its net profit rose 24 percent in the third quarter as trading margins and sales volumes improved, despite falling oil prices. Profit after tax jumped to $5.3 billion in the three months to the end of September, compared to $4.3 billion one year earlier, Shell said in a statement.
“Despite continued volatility, our strong delivery this quarter enables us to commence another $3.5 billion of (share) buybacks for the next three months,” said chief executive Wael Sawan. Stripping out exceptional items, adjusted earnings fell nearly 10 percent but still exceeded market expectations. The company also reported a reduction in net debt from the previous quarter.
Shell’s profits had struggled in the first half of the year on lower oil and gas prices. Energy prices have come under pressure this year on concerns that US President Donald Trump’s tariffs will hurt economic growth, while OPEC+ nations have produced more oil.
French rival TotalEnergies also reported a sharp rise in third-quarter net profit on Thursday, jumping 61 percent to $3.7 billion. Norwegian energy giant Equinor on Wednesday reported that it fell into a net loss in the third quarter, as it lowered its outlook for oil prices. Lower oil prices also hit Spanish group Repsol, which reported a sharp drop in its profits for the first nine months of the year.
As for Shell, “most of the (profit) beat came from the upstream division which is benefitting from increased production in Brazil and the recently renamed Gulf of America,” said Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown. He added that Shell benefited from a boost to gas trading, which “typically does well in volatile times and can counter price weakness.” Shell’s share price was flat in London morning deals following the update.
Along with rival BP, Shell has scaled back various climate objectives to focus more on oil and gas in order to raise profits. In July, Shell started up its liquified natural gas project in Canada, expected to ship 14 million tonnes of LNG from British Columbia to Asia each year. As it focuses on its fossil fuels business, Shell last month announced it had abandoned construction of one of Europe’s largest biofuel plants in the Netherlands. The renewables biofuel factory was intended to produce sustainable aviation fuel and diesel from waste, but faced unfavorable market conditions.
BP is set to report its third-quarter results next week, after surpassing earnings expectations in the second quarter.
© 2024 AFP
