Shell profit falls 70 percent but beats forecast
Royal Dutch Shell Plc posted a 70 percent fall in net profit in the second quarter, as oil prices and refining margins tumbled, but foreign exchange gains helped the oil major beat forecasts.
The world’s second-largest non government-controlled oil company by market value said on Thursday second-quarter current cost of supply (CCS) net income, which strips out unrealized gains or losses related to changes in the value of fuel inventories, was $2.34 billion.
Excluding one-off items, the result was $3.15 billion, compared with an average forecast of $2.55 billion in a Reuters poll of eight analysts.
“Blow-out numbers considering the environment. This is a big positive,” said Jason Kenney, oil analyst at ING.
Chief Executive Peter Voser, who took office earlier this month, gave a somber outlook for energy demand and prices, and promised to adapt to the tough environment by slashing costs.
“We are not banking on a quick recovery,” Voser said in a statement business