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Shell announced adjusted earnings of $39.9 billion for the year 2022.
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British oil giant Shell posted stronger-than-expected first-quarter profit on Thursday, extending a record streak of bumper results after commodity prices spiked in 2022 following the large-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Shell reported adjusted earnings of $9.6 billion for the first three months of the year, comfortably beating analysts’ expectations of $8.6 billion, according to Refinitiv.
The company posted adjusted earnings of $9.1 billion for the same period a year earlier and $9.8 billion for the last three months of 2022.
Shares in the oil major have changed little since the start of the year.
Shell’s results closely trail British rival BP, which on Tuesday reported lower first-quarter profits but beat analysts’ expectations for strength in oil and gas trading. BP shares fell on the news, however, as the London-listed company said it planned to scale back its share buybacks.
Big Oil broke previous annual profit records in 2022 during a period of volatile oil and gas prices following Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
For its part, Shell posted an adjusted profit of $39.9 billion for the year 2022. This greatly exceeded the $28.4 billion in 2008, which Shell said was the previous annual record for the year. business and was more than double the $19.29 billion profit for the year 2021.
Big oil executives have generally sought to defend their windfall profits amid a barrage of criticism, tending to stress the importance of energy security in the transition from fossil fuels and suggesting that higher taxes could discourage investment .
The burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas is the main driver of the climate emergency.
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