Enlarge image
Shell petrol station in London: Record profit for the oil multinational
Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
Energy giant Shell posted record profits last year thanks to high oil and gas prices.
The adjusted profit rose to 39.87 billion US dollars (36.22 billion euros), as the group announced in The Hague.
This means that the profit has roughly doubled within a year.
The last quarter of the year, which was better than analysts had expected, is also partly responsible for the record profit.
Other oil companies have also presented record figures, for example ExxonMobil, Chevron or BP.
The reason is the same everywhere: The relatively low global supply of fossil fuels at the height of the energy crisis has boosted their prices.
Higher dividend for shareholders
Shell shares were up more than 1 percent this morning.
Gas trading in particular was the driver in the last quarter, according to analyst Tom Mills from the analysis firm Jefferies.
That strength should also allay worries about its liquefied natural gas (LNG) business.
In view of these figures, the dividend for the fourth quarter is a little higher than expected: Shell pays its investors 28.75 cents per share, which is 15 percent more than in the same quarter last year.
In addition, the oil multinational has again announced a share buyback program.
Management plans to buy back $4 billion of shares.
There had already been plenty of share buybacks in the past strong year, and the previous share buyback program had only just ended.
In the final quarter of 2022, Shell increased adjusted profit by more than 50 percent to $9.81 billion within a year.
Analysts were pleasantly surprised as oil and gas prices fell slightly compared to the third quarter.
Net income attributable to shareholders was $10.5 billion in the final quarter, down slightly from a year ago.
The oil company has had a new boss this year: Canadian Wael Sawan took over the management from Ben van Beurden at the turn of the year.
The change was announced in September.
mamk/dpa
