* Annual profit lowest in at least 20 years
* Shell to increase dividend in first-quarter of 2021
* Shell's marketing business cushions impact of pandemic
* Debt ratio rises
(Adds shares)
By Ron Bousso and Shadia Nasralla
LONDON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell's
profit last year dropped to its lowest in at least two decades
as the coronavirus pandemic hit energy demand worldwide though
the company said it expected to raise its dividend again in a
sign of confidence.
Shell's oil and gas production and profit from refining
crude into fuels dropped sharply last year but it was able to
avoid the huge losses of its rivals thanks to strong trading
operations and sales at its network of more than 45,000 filling
station where it also has convenience stores.
"We are coming out of 2020 with a stronger balance sheet,"
Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said in a statement.
Shares in Shell were up 0.4% at 0822 GMT.
Shell shares collapsed in 2020 to hit 878.1 pence on Oct.
28, their lowest in more than a quarter of a century. They have
recovered slightly but are still down 40% since the end of 2019,
before COVID-19 savaged oil markets.
Shell's adjusted earnings for 2020 slumped 71% to $4.8
billion, the lowest since at least 2000, according to Reuters
data.
Like its rivals, Shell responded to the unprecedented drop
in oil and gas demand last year by cutting spending sharply.
It is also planning a major restructuring as part of its
plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero over the
next 30 years. It plans to cut 9,000 jobs, or more than 10% of
its workforce, as it shifts to low-carbon energy.
Shell invested $17.8 billion in new projects in 2020, about
$6 billion less than a year earlier, and slashed its operating
costs by 12% to $32.5 billion, helping its cash flow.
Reducing costs is vital for Shell's plans to move into the
power sector and renewables where margins are typically lower
than for fossil fuels.
Despite a 28% drop in fuel sales last year, Shell's adjusted
earnings from marketing and trading only fell 3% to $4.6 billion
compared with 2019.
But at the same time, Shell's cash flow was down nearly a
fifth from a year earlier while its debt-to-equity ratio rose to
32% from 29%, exceeding the company's target.
Its fourth-quarter profit fell 87% from a year earlier to
$393 million - missing analyst forecasts for a profit of $597
million - dragged down by weak liquefied natural gas prices,
lower production and weak refining margins.
In a sign of confidence, though, Shell said it expected to
raise its dividend for the first quarter of 2021 by 4% from the
previous quarter.
That would be the second slight increase since Shell slashed
its dividend by two-thirds in the first quarter of 2020 in
response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first reduction since
World War Two.
Shell's net debt at the end of the fourth quarter rose about
$2 billion on the previous quarter to $75.4 billion, with its
gearing - or debt-to-equity ratio - ticking up to 32.3%.
(Reporting by Ron Bousso and Shadia Nasralla; Editing by David
Clarke)
