The Hague-based energy giant Shell has reported a rise in adjusted earnings in the first quarter while its LNG sales dropped when compared to the same period last year.
The firm reported adjusted earnings of $3.2 billion for the quarter, compared to $2.86 billion the year before, and $393 million in the prior quarter.
Income attributable to Shell shareholders reached $5.7 billion and included net gains
on sale of assets of $1.4 billion and gains of $0.4 billion due to the fair value accounting of commodity derivatives, Shell said.
This compares to a loss of $24 million in the same quarter last year and a loss of $4.01 billion in the prior quarter.
Shell attributed the rise to mainly higher realised oil and LNG prices, chemicals and refining margins.
The firm also announced a dividend per share growth by around 4% compared to the previous quarter where the firm also raised the dividend despite a profit slump.
LNG volumes and sales down
Shell sold 15.80 million tonnes of LNG in the January-March period, compared to 19 million tonnes in the same period last year, and 16.89 million tonnes in the prior quarter.
Liquefaction volumes also dropped year-on-year from 8.88 million tonnes to 8.16 million tonnes but also compared to the previous quarter of 8.21 million tonnes. Shell said the volumes dropped due to cargo timing, partly offset by the restart of production at the Prelude floating LNG operations in Australia.
Shell’s Integrated Gas segment earned $2.52 billion, compared to only $20 million in the prior quarter and $1.8 billion in the same period a year ago.
Adjusted earnings reached $1.41 billion, rising 28 percent from the previous quarter but down from $2.14 billion in the same period last year.
Compared with the prior quarter, Integrated Gas adjusted earnings primarily reflected higher realised prices for oil and LNG, partly offset by higher operating expenses related to credit provisions, Shell said.
