Shell kicks off £2.74bn share buyback as earnings beat expectations
Shell kicked off a $3.5bn (£2.74bn) share buyback programme today as it posted better-than-expected numbers for the second quarter despite a previously announced $2bn (£1.6bn) impairment and a slide in revenue.
The London-listed oil major reported adjusted earnings of $6.3bn (£4.91bn) for the three months to June 30, beating analyst consensus of $5.9bn (£4.6bn).
Revenue was down quarter-on-quarter, falling 19 per cent from $7.7bn in the first quarter, as lower liquified natural gas trading and refining margins, and a weaker oil price weighed on the firm’s earnings.
The dent to revenue at the London-listed oil major was partially offset by better marketing margins and volumes, it said.
The earnings beat was enough for the company to trigger a $3.5bn share buyback programme, which is expected to be completed by the third quarter results, mirroring the round announced at the firm’s first quarter results announced in April.
The results came despite by a $2bn (£1.6bn) impairment in its biofuels and refining divisions. In early July, the oil major announced that its decision to temporarily pause construction at a biofuels facility in Rotterdam and divest from a Singapore refining plant would, combined with slower trading in its gash division, would cost the firm an estimated $2bn.
Shell’s results follow rival petrochemical giant BP, whose a first half performance that beat expectations despite disclosing a similarly large refining-related writedown of its own alongside its production report in July.
The decision to pause construction on its Rotterdam biofuels facility is further evidence of the intense focus on value that chief executive Wael Sawan, who has now been at the helm for over a year, has brought to the business.
In so doing the firm has rowed back from several of its climate commitments and pledges, which triggered the resignation of several high profile executives in its renewables division.
“Shell reported good Q2 results,” said Tineke Frikkee, head of UK equity research at investment management shop Waverton. “Sales missed by 2.5% due to lower volumes sold in oil & gas, but profitability improvements and better plant utilisation meant that profit beat by 6% and earnings per share by 2%…
“[By investing $4.7bn into the business, Shell showed] a solid demonstration of its commitment to improve operational performance.”
Shares in Shell were up 1.3 per cent in early morning trading.