Shell has rewarded investors with a 4.7% increase in dividend payments covering the last quarter of 2012 after making $7.3bn worth of profits – a major increase on the same period of 2011.
The earnings on a current cost of supply (CCS) basis were 13% better than those for the last quarter of the previous year – and $27bn for the year – but were well below what the City had expected.
Shell shares fell as Peter Voser, the Shell chief executive, admitted the economic outlook was "uncertain" in some of the company's key markets.
But he said the Anglo-Dutch group was pressing ahead with its growth targets because overall energy demand would increase.
"We make long-term decisions on capital allocation and growth choices, and we look through short-term market volatility," he said.
"As our cash flow momentum builds we expect to increase our dividends for shareholders in measured, affordable steps. There is more to come from Shell."
Shell, along with other oil companies, has been cleared by the Office of Fair Trading of profiteering on the UK petrol forecourt, but the $27bn annual earnings figure underlines the enormous global profits being made "upstream" – bringing oil and gas out of the ground.
The environmental cost of Shell moving deeper into more environmentally-sensitive regions – such as the Arctic – also remains highly controversial.
The company, which has overtaken BP in stock market value to become the second largest group of its kind in the world behind ExxonMobil, said it would spend up to $130bn on finding and developing new reserves up to 2015. Shell has 30 new projects under construction, which would unlock 7bn barrels of new reserves.
This includes building the largest ship ever to produce liquefied natural gas off Australia as well as continuing to invest in the UK North Sea.
The company's income over the last quarter of 2012 went up 3% year-on-year to $6.7bn, while "clean" CCS earnings, which exclude certain items, rose to $5.6bn, lower than the $6.2bn predicted by many analysts.
Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers, told the Press Association that the figures had failed to inspire the market.
"There are certainly positives within the statement … however, the overall profit number was shy of expectations, costs are on an upward trend within the industry and the weakness of the gas price has impacted on Shell, which for the first time sold more gas than oil last year."
guardian.co.uk
The earnings on a current cost of supply (CCS) basis were 13% better than those for the last quarter of the previous year – and $27bn for the year – but were well below what the City had expected.
Shell shares fell as Peter Voser, the Shell chief executive, admitted the economic outlook was "uncertain" in some of the company's key markets.
But he said the Anglo-Dutch group was pressing ahead with its growth targets because overall energy demand would increase.
"We make long-term decisions on capital allocation and growth choices, and we look through short-term market volatility," he said.
"As our cash flow momentum builds we expect to increase our dividends for shareholders in measured, affordable steps. There is more to come from Shell."
Shell, along with other oil companies, has been cleared by the Office of Fair Trading of profiteering on the UK petrol forecourt, but the $27bn annual earnings figure underlines the enormous global profits being made "upstream" – bringing oil and gas out of the ground.
The environmental cost of Shell moving deeper into more environmentally-sensitive regions – such as the Arctic – also remains highly controversial.
The company, which has overtaken BP in stock market value to become the second largest group of its kind in the world behind ExxonMobil, said it would spend up to $130bn on finding and developing new reserves up to 2015. Shell has 30 new projects under construction, which would unlock 7bn barrels of new reserves.
This includes building the largest ship ever to produce liquefied natural gas off Australia as well as continuing to invest in the UK North Sea.
The company's income over the last quarter of 2012 went up 3% year-on-year to $6.7bn, while "clean" CCS earnings, which exclude certain items, rose to $5.6bn, lower than the $6.2bn predicted by many analysts.
Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers, told the Press Association that the figures had failed to inspire the market.
"There are certainly positives within the statement … however, the overall profit number was shy of expectations, costs are on an upward trend within the industry and the weakness of the gas price has impacted on Shell, which for the first time sold more gas than oil last year."
guardian.co.uk
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