Royal Dutch Shell profit drops as crude prices tumble

Royal Dutch Shell, which is on the brink of completing the oil industry’s largest deal in a decade, said fourth-quarter profit fell 44%, after the rout in crude prices deepened.

Profit adjusted for one-time items and inventory changes shrank to $1.8bn (€1.64bn).

That is near the midpoint of the preliminary, $1.6bn-to-$1.9bn range it gave last month.