LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell's
profit in the fourth quarter of 2019 fell by nearly 50% to $2.9
billion, missing forecasts and falling to its lowest in more
than three years on weaker oil and gas prices.
CEO Ben van Beurden said the company's intention to complete
its $25 billion share buyback programme in 2020 remained
"unchanged".
The 48% drop in net income attributable to shareholders,
based on a current cost of supplies (CCS) and excluding
identified items, compared with a profit forecast of $3.2
billion, a company-provided survey of analysts showed.
Shell's third quarter profits were $4.8 billion.
For 2019, Shell's profit was $16.5 billion, down 23%.
(Reporting by Ron Bousso and Shadia Nasralla; editing by Jason
Neely)