Shell nearly doubled its third-quarter adjusted earnings to $10.81 billion as refining margins hit a record $42 per barrel. The company raised its share buyback to $5 billion, while the war in the Middle East and strikes on Russian refineries keep fuel supplies tight.
Shell nearly doubled its quarterly profit year-on-year to $10.81 billion, the oil major said Thursday. Adjusted earnings, the company's measure of net profit, rose from $5.43 billion a year ago and beat the $9.92 billion analysts expected, according to an LSEG-compiled consensus.
It was Shell's strongest profit since the second quarter of 2022. Its London-listed shares rose around 3% in morning trade and hit an all-time high.
Refining margins top the previous record
Indicative refining margins reached $42 per barrel, against the previous record of $28.04 per barrel in the second quarter of 2022. The figure matched the company's forecast from earlier in the month.
A global shortfall of refining capacity, worsened by strikes on Russian refineries, has driven up the prices of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. The Group of Seven nations agreed earlier this month to release emergency diesel stocks as pump prices climb.
Brent crude traded around $114 a barrel on Thursday, up from around $65 a year ago. Exports from Gulf countries have been curtailed by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Shell lifts its buyback
Shell announced a $5 billion share program to run over the next three months, up from $3 billion in the previous quarter. According to CNBC, CEO Wael Sawan said the company saw strong operational performance amid "continued severe disruption to the global energy system."
Free cash flow came in at $16.3 billion, up from $10 billion a year earlier. Net debt stood at $39.7 billion, down from $41.75 billion in the prior quarter.
The war has also cut into Shell's gas business. The prewar gas production of 900,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day fell by a third as the conflict unfolded, The Guardian reported.
France's TotalEnergies more than doubled its adjusted net income to $9.1 billion in third-quarter results published the same day.
Sources: CNBC, The Guardian
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