(Alliance News) - Royal Dutch Shell PLC on Thursday reported a larger-than-expected jump in quarterly earnings on improved commodity prices.
The Hague, Netherlands-based company's adjusted earnings in the first quarter jumped to USD3.23 billion from USD2.86 billion, which was ahead of company-compiled consensus at USD3.13 billion.
It swung to a profit attributable to shareholders of USD5.66 billion in the period from a loss of USD24 million year-on-year, partially driven by "resilient" Integrated Gas & Marketing, "robust" Upstream and "outstanding" Chemicals results.
The improved earnings print reflects higher realised oil and liquefied natural gas prices, Shell said.
At the end of the quarter, Shell's net debt stood at USD71.3 billion, down from USD75.4 billion at the end of 2020 as the company progresses towards reducing this to the USD65 billion target. Once this is achieved, Shell said it plans to increase shareholder distributions to 20% to 30% of cash flow from operations.
The company declared a dividend for the quarter of USD0.1735 per share, up 4.2% quarter-on-quarter.
Shares in Shell were up 0.8% at 1,392.60 pence in London on Thursday morning.
"As previously announced, the first quarter 2021 dividend per share has been increased by around 4%, in line with our progressive dividend policy. We have reduced net debt by more than USD4 billion this quarter, progressing towards the USD65 billion milestone to increase shareholder distributions. Our competitive and robust financial performance provides the platform to achieve the goals of our Powering Progress strategy," said Chief Executive Ben van Beurden.
Shell's peer BP PLC, which reported on Tuesday, said it would buyback USD500 million of shares in the second quarter after reducing net debt to USD33.31 billion, which is less than half Shell's current total.
Looking ahead, Shell said its second quarter total production outlook is expected to be impacted by lower seasonal gas demand and divestments, guiding for Upstream total production of between 2,150 and 2,350 kilo barrels of oil equivalent per day.
By Zoe Wickens; zoewickens@alliancenews.com
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