LONDON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell,Europe's largest oil company, reported its lowest annual incomein at least 13 years on Thursday as slumping oil prices hitprofits.
Shell, whose shareholders last week approved its takeover ofrival BG Group, said 2015 income fell 87 percent year onyear to $1.94 billion, in line with analysts' estimates.
Shell's fourth quarter current cost of supplies (CCS)earnings excluding identified items, its preferred way ofmeasuring profits, fell 44 percent to $1.83 billion.
Shell's full-year capital spending, or capex, came in at$28.9 billion, $8.4 billion lower than in 2014. Capex for thecombined Shell-BG group was expected to reach $33 billion in2016, a 45 percent reduction from their combined spending.
Shell sold $5.5 billion worth of assets in 2015, it said. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps and Ron Bousso; editing by DavidClarke)