Oil and gas company Shell’s second-quarter profit plunged by about 56 per cent on an annual basis amid lower hydrocarbon prices.
The adjusted profit of $5.07 billion was below the company’s consensus forecast of an income of $5.6 billion.
The company also said on Thursday that it would buy back shares worth $3 billion in the next three months, down from $3.6 billion in the previous three. It will also raise its dividend by 15 per cent to $0.33 a share.
“Shell delivered strong operational performance and cash flows in the second quarter, despite a lower commodity price environment,” its chief executive Wael Sawan said.
“As we deliver more value with less emissions, we will continue to prioritise share buybacks, given the value that our shares represent.”
Shell's shares were trading 1.59 per cent lower on the London Stock Exchange at 12.46pm UAE time on Thursday.
Shell said the weaker results were due to lower oil and gas prices and refining margins, as well as a fall in sales volumes.
Brent, the benchmark for two thirds of the world’s oil, is currently trading at about $83 a barrel after surging to about $140 last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Lower natural gas prices also weighed on Shell’s integrated gas segment, where adjusted earnings fell to about $2.5 billion in the reported quarter, down from $3.76 billion in the same period a year earlier.
The company’s liquefied natural gas sales volumes rose 5.4 per cent, year on year, to 16.03 million tonnes in the second quarter.
However, it was lower than the 16.97 million tonnes Shell reported in the first quarter of this year.
Meanwhile, the company's oil and gas production rose by 2 per cent, compared with the preceding quarter, helped by the ramp-up of new fields and lower maintenance.
Competition for LNG has increased since Russia's military offensive against Ukraine began last year, with Europe importing record volumes of the supercooled fuel to replace Moscow's gas supplies.
Global LNG trade hit a high of $450 billion in 2022 as Europe scrambled to secure supplies to replace Russian gas, according to the International Energy Agency.
Despite a rise in demand, LNG supply grew by only 5.5 per cent last year, mostly due to maintenance at large export terminals and as Freeport LNG’s Texas-based plant – one of the world’s largest export centres of the supercooled fuel – was shut down after a fire.
The IEA has warned that “fierce” competition for gas exports may emerge this winter on stronger-than-expected economic growth in China and colder weather in north-east Asia.
In a separate report on Thursday, France’s TotalEnergies posted a drop in second-quarter net income due to lower natural gas prices and refining margins.
The company’s adjusted net income fell by 49 per cent to $5 billion.
Analysts were expecting TotalEnergies to report a profit of $5.2 billion in the reported quarter, according to Refinitiv Eikon.
The company's earnings from its integrated LNG division slumped by about 40 per cent, year on year, to $1.33 billion in the second quarter.
TotalEnergies produced 2.47 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in the three months ending on June 30, up 2 per cent from the same period a year earlier.
“In a favourable but softening oil and gas environment, TotalEnergies once again delivered [in] this quarter robust results, strong cash flow and attractive shareholder distribution,” said its chief executive Patrick Pouyanne.
“The board decided the distribution of a second interim dividend for the 2023 financial year in the amount of €0.74 per share, up 7.25 per cent annually, and authorised the company to buy back shares for $2 billion in the third quarter of 2023.”
TotalEnergies stock was up 0.37 per cent as of 1.05pm UAE time.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
HOW TO WATCH
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Racecard
2pm Handicap Dh 90,000 1,800m
2.30pm Handicap Dh120,000 1,950m
3pm Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
3.30pm Jebel Ali Classic Conditions Dh300,000 1,400m
4pm Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
4.30pm Conditions Dh250,000 1,400m
5pm Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
5.30pm Handicap Dh85,000 1,000m
The National selections:
2pm Arch Gold
2.30pm Conclusion
3pm Al Battar
3.30pm Golden Jaguar
4pm Al Motayar
4.30pm Tapi Sioux
5pm Leadership
5.30pm Dahawi
PSA DUBAI WORLD SERIES FINALS LINE-UP
Men’s:
Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
Ali Farag (EGY)
Simon Rosner (GER)
Tarek Momen (EGY)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Nick Matthew (ENG)
Women's:
Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Laura Massaro (ENG)
Joelle King (NZE)
Camille Serme (FRA)
Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
The%20specs
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Isle of Dogs
Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Liev Schreiber, Ed Norton, Greta Gerwig, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson
Three stars
Zimbabwe v UAE, ODI series
All matches at the Harare Sports Club:
1st ODI, Wednesday, April 10
2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
Scorline
Iraq 1-0 UAE
Iraq Hussein 28’
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch
Power: 710bhp
Torque: 770Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 2.9 seconds
Top Speed: 340km/h
Price: Dh1,000,885
On sale: now
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
