Shell's Profits Fall on Declining Oil Prices

By WSJ City 

Royal Dutch Shell's first-quarter earnings fell on lower returns from its chemicals and refining operations, but the performance of its gas trading business saw the oil major fare better than many of its rivals.

KEY FACTS

--- Shell said first-quarter profit fell almost 7% to $5.2bn.

--- That compares with $5.7bn in Q4, when Shell posted its highest profit since 2013.

--- Revenue fell 6.2% to $83.74bn, Shell said.

--- But the Anglo-Dutch giant fared a bit better than its rivals in Europe and North America.

--- That's partly because its gas-trading business proved to be robust.

Why This Matters

The world's largest energy firms have taken a hit in the first-quarter amid geopolitical turmoil and weaker global oil prices. Exxon said its earnings during the period fell in every business segment inside and outside the US. Shell's report "was a standout result out of the Big Five," said Thomas Adolff, the head of European oil and gas equity research at Credit Suisse.

A fuller story is available on WSJ.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 02, 2019 06:47 ET (10:47 GMT)

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