Shell sees Q3 profit double as prices soar
Net income increased to $7 billion (€4.99bn) from $3.5bn a year earlier, the Hague-based company said yesterday in a statement.
Excluding one-time items and inventory changes, earnings beat analyst estimates.
Chief executive Peter Voser is seeking to boost output with a $100bn investment plan through 2014, including the Pearl gas-to-liquids and Qatargas 4 liquefied natural-gas projects and an upgrade at an oil-sands project in Alberta. Shell has sold about $6.2bn of assets this year, exceeding a $5bn target.
“We are making good progress against our targets, to deliver a more competitive performance,” Voser said in the statement.
Adjusted earnings of $7bn compared with the $6.6bn mean estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Shell’s Class A shares in London rose as much as 2.6% to 2,305 pence. The stock is up 7.7% this year.
Earlier this week, BP Plc also reported profit that beat analyst estimates and increased an asset sales target by 50% to $45bn. Statoil ASA, Norway’s biggest energy producer, said output rose for the first quarter in five as earnings fell on higher taxes.
LNG sales volumes increased 12% to 4.76 million tons from the year-earlier quarter, Shell said.
Overall production fell 2% to 3.012 million barrels of oil equivalent a day. New fields contributed about 270,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day.
Shell’s cash-flow benefited from a 33% gain in British gas futures and a 46% increase in Brent oil prices from the year-earlier quarter.
Shell received its first contribution from a $12bn biofuels joint venture with Cosan SA Industria & Comercio in Brazil, it said. It was involved in two exploration discoveries in French Guiana and Australia. Shell also secured new exploration projects in the Americas, Tanzania and New Zealand.
Of the 31 analysts that cover Shell, 24 recommend buying the shares and seven have ‘hold’ ratings.
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