Shell sees Q3 profits beat forecasts, names new chairman

Royal Dutch Shell has named a replacement for chairman Jorma Ollila who is to step down after nine years, as the company reported a bigger-than-expected jump in third-quarter earnings despite lower oil prices.Ollila, the former boss of mobile-phone group Nokia, will be replaced by current non-executive director Charles Holliday, who has worked for Shell since 2010.Holliday, the former chief executive and chairman of US chemical company DuPont and current boardmember of Bank of America, will step up to his new role after the annual general meeting in May 2015.Separately, Shell said that earnings on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis totalled $5.3bn in the three months to 30 September, up from $4.2bn the same period the year before.Adjusted CCS earnings rose to $5.8bn from $4.5bn, an increase of 31%, helped by improved results in both the downstream and upstream divisions. Analysts had expected a figure closer to $5.5bn.Revenue fell slightly to $107.85bn, from $116.51bn the year before.Chief executive Ben van Beuden said: "The recent decline in oil prices is part of the volatility in our industry. It underlines the importance of our drive to get a tighter grip on performance management, keep a tight hold on costs and spending, and improve the balance between growth and returns."Downstream was helped by increased contributions from refining including improved operating performance and trading.Earnings in upstream were boosted by new, higher-margin production, lower exploration expenses and higher earnings from integrated gas, offsetting the effect of lower oil prices and volumes overall.Shell was also able to shrug off $400m adverse impact on earnings from an increase of a deferred tax liability as a result of a weaker Australian dollar.Operating cash flow jumped to $12.8bn from $10.4bn the year before.The third-quarter dividend was raised 4% to $0.47 a share.