Shell warns as profits slip to £1.9bn


ENERGY group Shell has warned investors of an 'unsettled' outlook for oil prices and continuing problems in the chemicals industry as it reported its first quarterly profits decline since 1999.

Recent falls in oil and gas prices led to a 17% drop in adjusted underlying earnings in the three months to September to $2.68bn (£1.9bn). The setback follows a spate of record profits for Shell and other oil majors as oil prices surged.

Lower refining margins added to the pressure on profits for Shell, which in September dismayed analysts by slashing the rate at which it expects output to grow from 5% to 3%. Shell said Brent crude prices averaged $25.30 a barrel during the quarter, compared with $30.45 a year earlier. Natural gas prices in the US were even more sharply down. The worst-hit division was chemicals, where adjusted earnings collapsed by 87% to $28m.

Parents Royal Dutch/Shell and Shell Transport and Trading continued to buy in and cancel shares. Together they bought back $1.3bn worth, bringing the total for the year to $4bn.

Shell warns as profits slip to £1.9bn

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