Shell unveils €2m-an-hour profit

Royal Dutch Shell reignited anger over massive profits today after it revealed a $27.6bn (€18.6bn) in 2007 – a new record for a UK-based company.

The figure – equivalent to more than £1.5m (€2m) an hour – prompted a fresh call from unions for a windfall tax on oil companies.

Royal Dutch Shell’s profits haul for 2007 was 9% higher than a year ago and comes after the price of crude oil rose towards $100 a barrel.

Today's figures benefited from a better-than-expected finish to 2007, with fourth quarter profits ahead 11% at $6.68bn (€4.5m). That was higher than consensus forecasts for a figure of around $5.82bn (€3.9bn).

The boost came from exploration and production, with the division posting earnings of $4.87bn (€3.3bn), against $3.54bn (€2.4bn) a year earlier.

This reflected the impact of higher oil and gas prices on revenues, which was partly offset by lower production volumes, higher taxes and rising costs.

Shell has also ratcheted up capital spending to seek out new sources of oil and gas, with chief executive Jeroen van der Veer selling off maturing assets to “rejuvenate” the oil major’s portfolio.

He said today: “Overall these are satisfactory results. We made good progress in 2007, launched new projects upstream and downstream, and achieved exploration successes.”