Shell: decline in net profit, weighed down by refining margins and the price of oil – 10/31/2024 at 09:27

Shell: decline in net profit, weighed down by refining margins and the price of oil – 10/31/2024 at 09:27
Shell: decline in net profit, weighed down by refining margins and the price of oil – 10/31/2024 at 09:27

The British oil and gas giant Shell on Thursday revealed a sharp decline in net profit in the third quarter, to 4.3 billion dollars, compared to 7 billion in the same period last year (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Brandon Bell)

The British oil and gas giant Shell on Thursday revealed a sharp decline in net profit in the third quarter, to 4.3 billion dollars, compared to 7 billion in the same period last year, hampered in particular by the drop in refining margins and oil prices.

The difficulties over the quarter are partly offset by the drop in operating expenses and the increase in volumes of the gas activity, adds the group.

The result for the quarter was also weighed down to the tune of $1.3 billion by “an accounting inadequacy” in the accounting for derivatives contracts, as well as various costs, notably linked to layoffs and restructuring.

These results are described as “solid” by CEO Wael Sawan. “We continue to produce more value with fewer emissions, while improving the resilience of our balance sheet,” he said in the statement.

The group prefers to rely on adjusted profit, which excludes certain exceptional items and whose decline of around 3% compared to the previous quarter is much more limited than that of net profit.

The fall in net profit remains measured in comparison with that of the other British “major” in the sector, BP, which announced Tuesday 206 million dollars in profits, against 4.9 billion a year earlier, for the same reasons.

If oil prices were driven upwards at the end of the third quarter by renewed tension in the Middle East, they are structurally contained by weak demand from China, the leading importer of crude, and by production forecasts. abundant in 2025.

The group's turnover for the quarter amounted to 72.5 billion dollars, down compared to the 78 billion recorded last year during the same period.

Shell announced at the end of August that it was cutting hundreds of positions in two oil and gas exploration units, as part of a cost reduction program announced last year across the entire group.

Since the announcement of this plan, the energy giant has already implemented job cuts in several branches of activity, including renewable energies, according to the British press.

Shell has backpedaled in recent months, like its compatriot BP, on certain climate objectives, to the great dismay of environmental activists, placing more emphasis on oil and gas to boost its profits.

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