- Q1 underlying earnings up 6% quarter-on-quarter to $7.7bn.
- Operating cash flows up 6% to $13.3bn.
- Repurchased $2.8bn shares in the quarter.
Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown:
“Shell’s produced yet another quarter of staggering cash flows. Higher margins and up time at its refineries more than offset lower earnings in the upstream and integrated gas divisions. The strong cash generation is enabling Shell to reduce debt, reward shareholders (it’s also raised the dividend 20% year-on-year) and continue investing into the business as it targets total expenditure of $22-$25bn in both 2024 and 2025.
Shell remains ‘committed to oil & gas’ which may disappoint environmentalists, but it’s made meaningful reductions in its scope 1 & 2 emissions in recent years and slightly increased its renewable power generation capacity in the quarter. The development portfolio has a wide spread of projects across the energy mix, from the deepwater Mero fields in offshore Brazil through to the 1.5GW Atlantic Shores offshore wind farm, the largest such project in the United States. There’s no doubting Shell’s relentless focus on shareholder value and over the long-term the sub 10 times earnings multiple doesn’t look too demanding. Price volatility is an ever-present risk across the sector but its one that Shell is navigating admirably.”
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