Hargreaves Lansdown hails Shell's business model as Q1 results beat forecasts

Royal Dutch Shell remains a "strong hold" among analysts, according to Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers, after the oil major reported a less-than-expected decline in first-quarter profits.Earnings on a current cost of supplies sank 56% year-on-year when excluding identified items to $3.2bn in the first quarter, as lower oil prices hammered the bottom line.However, this still smashed the average prediction of $2.5bn due to a better-than-expected performance from the downstream division."Like rivals including BP, the fall in the oil price has proved to be something of a double edged sword, with the earnings impacted upstream operations being partly compensated for by the tailwind given to its downstream refining business," said equity analyst Keith Bowman.He applauded Shell's "management initiatives" such as the sale of non-strategic assets and a curtailing of its capital expenditure programme, while broader cost cutting continued to be pursued."In all, today's results have been well received. The group's integrated business model is again aiding performance, whilst management is taking clear action, including the launch of a takeover for BG Group, in order to boost prospects," Bowman said."On balance, and given current oil price uncertainties, analyst consensus opinion currently points towards a strong hold."The stock was up 0.6% at 2,064p by 11:00.