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(Alliance News) -Â Royal Dutch Shell PLC on Thursday posted a hefty loss for 2020, in line with global peers, in a year which saw the oil industry battered by the coronavirus pandemic.
For 2020, the oil major swung to a loss attributable to shareholders of USD21.68 billion from a profit of USD15.84 billion in 2019. Adjusted earnings were USD4.85 billion, down 71% from USD16.46 billion and missing consensus forecasts for USD5.05 billion.
Total revenue & other income for 2020 was USD183.20 billion, down sharply on USD352.11 billion in 2019.
By division, Integrated Gas adjusted earnings in 2020 fell 51% to USD4.38 billion and Shell posted an adjusted loss in Upstream of USD2.85 billion versus earnings of USD4.45 billion in 2019. Oil Products adjusted earnings dipped only slightly, down 4% to USD6.00 billion, while Chemicals registered growth of 30% to USD962 million.
For the fourth quarter alone, Shell swung to a loss attributable to shareholders of USD4.01 billion from a USD965 million profit in 2019.
"Fourth quarter 2020 results reflected lower realised prices for oil and LNG as well as lower production volumes, and realised refining margins compared with the fourth quarter 2019. This was partly offset by lower operating expenses and higher chemicals margins," the firm noted.
Organic free cash flow for 2020 was USD17.63 billion, down 12% from USD20.12 billion in 2019. Net debt increased by USD1.9 billion to USD75.4 billion in the fourth quarter, hurt by lower free cash flow, including a small working capital outflow.
Total production available for sale in 2020 was 3.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, down 8% on the year before.
Looking ahead to the first quarter of the new year, Shell said Integrated Gas production is expected in a range between 900,000 to 950,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and Upstream production around 2.4 million to 2.6 million barrels per day.
"2020 was an extraordinary year. We have taken tough but decisive actions and demonstrated highly resilient operational delivery while caring for our people, customers and communities. We are coming out of 2020 with a stronger balance sheet, ready to accelerate our strategy and make the future of energy. We are committed to our progressive dividend policy and expect to grow our US dollar dividend per share by around 4% as of the first quarter 2021," said Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden.
Shell slashed its fourth quarter payout by 65% to USD0.1665 from USD0.4700 a year ago. Its annual dividend also was down 65% to USD0.6530. Shell expects its first quarter 2021 dividend to be USD0.1735, up 4.2% on the fourth-quarter payout.
In April 2020, Shell slashed its first quarter dividend to 16 US cents, the first dividend cut since World War Two. It paid out 47 cents each quarter in 2019.
Shell 'A' shares were up 0.7% at 1,345.00 pence in London on Thursday and 'B' shares up 0.8% at 1,282.40p - both down by about a third over the past 12 months.
London-listed peer BP on Tuesday had said its 2020 loss attributable to shareholders was a startling USD20.31 billion, turning from a USD4.03 billion profit in 2019. It cut its full-year dividend by 23%.
By Lucy Heming;Â lucyheming@alliancenews.com
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