Shell reported a smaller-than-expected decline in adjusted quarterly profit on Thursday, as the oil giant benefited in particular from its strong performance in upstream and LNG.

Adjusted fourth-quarter earnings fell to $7.3 billion from $9.8 billion a year earlier, but were well above analysts' consensus of $6 billion.

Shell's total production remained broadly stable over the last three months of the year, at 2.83 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.

After distributing $23 billion to shareholders last year, the Group plans to increase its dividend by 4% and launch a new $3.5 billion share buyback package over the next three months.

In view of these decisions, we have the impression that Shell is favoring share buybacks at the expense of dividend growth, which is in line with recent statements made by the management team", reacted analysts at RBC.

On the London Stock Exchange, Shell shares were up 1.8% at around 9:00 a.m., while the STOXX Europe 600 Oil & Gas sector index was up 0.7% at the same time.

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