Shell Reports $9.6 Billion Profit, Despite Falling Oil Prices
Shell, Europe’s largest energy company, said Thursday that its profit jumped 6 percent in the first quarter to $9.6 billion, a sign that the company remains hugely profitable, even with oil prices under pressure.
The company’s earnings, adjusted for items like divestitures, were below the record of $11.5 billion set in the second quarter of 2022, but they still exceeded analysts’ forecasts.
Shell’s European rivals have also reported hefty profits in the first quarter: BP earned $5 billion and TotalEnergies of France had $6.5 billion.
Oil and natural gas prices are below their peaks last year, but they remain relatively robust. Brent crude, the international benchmark, has dropped about 15 percent since April 12 to $73 a barrel, despite the recent announcement by the oil cartel known as OPEC Plus that it would cut output beginning this month.
Source: The New York Times
