SHELL PROFITS SLUMP BY MORE THAN A FIFTH AMID OIL PRICE ROUT

LONDON, Feb 5 (Bernama-PA Media/dpa) -- Shell has laid bare the impact of last year’s tumbling oil prices as it reported a worse-than-expected 22 per cent plunge in annual profits, reported PA Media/dpa.

The oil giant on Thursday said underlying earnings – which strips out some commodity-price adjustments and one-off charges – dropped to US$18.53 billion for 2025 after a 40 per cent plunge quarter-on-quarter in the final three months of the year.

Adjusted profits for the fourth quarter dropped to US$3.26 billion, lower than expected by most analysts and the lowest quarterly profit for nearly five years.

Despite the heavy profit fall, the FTSE 100 firm announced another US$3.5 billion of share buybacks to be completed in the first quarter of the year, on top of a dividend hike.

But this failed to appease shareholders, as shares in Shell fell by more than 2 per cent in morning trade on Thursday.

Shell chief executive Wael Sawan said: “2025 was a year of accelerated momentum, with strong operational and financial performance across Shell.”

He added: “In the fourth quarter, despite lower earnings in a softer macro environment, cash delivery remained solid and today we announce a 4 per cent increase in our dividend and US$3.5 billion share buyback, making this the 17th consecutive quarter of at least US$3 billion of buybacks.”

The profits hit comes after the cost of crude dropped by 19 per cent in 2025 and for a record-breaking third year in a row, as there was more supply than needed in the world economy.

The falls came in a year dominated by conflict, higher tariffs, and rising supply from oil producers, with Brent crude dropping below US$60 a barrel last month for the first time in almost five years.

Oil prices have since recovered a little, to just over US$68 a barrel, and Shell’s chief financial officer Sinead Gorman said the group expected them to stabilise at between US$65 and US$70 a barrel.

The figures mark Shell’s weakest quarterly result since the first three months of 2021.

Shell said that as well as the weaker oil price, results were hit by unfavourable tax adjustments and difficult trading in its troubled chemicals division.

The results come as oil majors worldwide are reconsidering ventures in Venezuela after US President Donald Trump ordered its leader Nicolas Maduro to be captured and seized.

Trump is now putting pressure on the big players to re-enter the country.

Gorman said Shell already has an interest in Venezuela via the Dragon gas field, which lies under Venezuelan territorial waters, and in which it has 46.5 per cent ownership of the facility alongside Trinidad & Tobago’s national gas company.

She said: “We’ve been progressing, effectively, one of the projects, which is Dragon in Venezuela in full compliance with regulations and US sanctions and we continue to be interested in doing that in Venezuela.

“We’re interested in Venezuela as a trading opportunity, and we’re monitoring the situation quite closely.”

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said the full-year profits outturn was a “disappointment”.

He said: “The volatility of the oil price inevitably had an effect as tepid demand and oversupply put a dampener on any price progress.”

Hunter added: “Despite heightened geopolitical tensions, Shell is now undergoing more conservative capital expenditure, guiding for a range of between US$20 billion and US$22 billion for this year, thus underpinning shareholder returns.”

-- BERNAMA-PA MEDIA/DPA