Financial Times: Shell’s performance beats expectations
“Shell has been reviewing its leading projects since the cost of its Sakhalin 2 project in Russia doubled to $20bn earlier this year. The enthusiasm of some analysts was tempered by their expectation that its capital expenditure budget would have to rise when it is announced in December.”
Friday 28 October 2005
By Thomas Catan and Sharlene Goff
Royal Dutch Shell made the largest quarterly profit in its 98-year history this summer, despite a severe beating from the storms in the Gulf of Mexico.
The world’s third-largest oil company by market value saw its third quarter profit soar 68 per cent on the back of high oil prices and a pipeline sale in the Netherlands. The results far exceeded market expectations, sending Shell’s “B” shares up 14p to £17.91.
The company’s third-quarter “current cost of supply” (CCS) net profit – a closely watched measure that excludes gains from rising fuel stock values and one-off charges – was $5.8bn (£3.3bn) against expectations of about $5bn.