(Alliance News) -Â Royal Dutch Shell PLC swung to a second-quarter loss as the oil major took a hefty USD16.8 billion impairment charge, it said on Thursday.
Adjusted earnings - previously referred to as CCS earnings attributable to shareholders excluding identified items - slumped to just USD638 million in the second quarter from USD3.46 billion a year ago.
Including the USD16.8 billion impairment charge - taken "as a result of revised medium- and long-term price and refining margin outlook assumptions in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and macroeconomic conditions as well as energy market demand and supply fundamentals" - Shell posted a loss attributable to shareholders of USD18.13 billion versus income of USD3.00 billion a year ago.
"Second quarter 2020 results reflected lower realised prices for oil, LNG and gas, lower realised refining margins, Oil Products sales volumes and higher well write-offs, compared with the second quarter 2019. This was partly offset by very strong crude and oil products trading and optimisation results as well as lower operating expenses," said Shell.
For the first half, its attributable loss was USD18.16 billion against a profit of USD9.00 a year prior.
Shell's dividend for the half totalled USD0.32, in line with its decision in April to slash its first quarter payout to USD0.16 cents. For the first half of 2019, Shell paid out USD0.94.
Second quarter oil and gas production was 3.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, a decrease of 6% compared with a year ago.
By Lucy Heming;Â lucyheming@alliancenews.com
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