Shell on Thursday reported record first-quarter profits driven by surging oil and gas prices.
Adjusted earnings rose 43% from the previous quarter to $9.13bn, beating average analyst forecasts provided by the company of $8.67bn and treble the $3.13bn reported a year earlier.
The profit will fuel further calls for a windfall tax on energy companies as people struggle with the cost-of-living crisis and spiralling inflation. Rival BP on Tuesday reported quarterly profits of $6.2bn – it’s best in a decade.
Cash flow from operating activities rose 81% to $14.8bn year on year and Shell said it now expected shareholder distributions for the second half of 2022 to be in excess of 30% of cash flow.
The oil giant returned $5.4bn in the first three months of the year and said it would spend another $4bn buying up its own shares over the next three months.
Oil and gas prices have soared in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with benchmark Brent crude rising from around $79 a barrel at the start of the year to $111.
Shell previously announced plans to exit investment in Russia in response to the war in Ukraine and last month said the decision would cost it around $5bn.
