Shell said last month that windfall taxes imposed by the European Union and U.K. following the surge in profits would cost the group about $2 billion.
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British oil giant Shell on Thursday posted its highest-ever annual profit, bolstered by soaring fossil fuel prices and robust demand since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.
Shell reported adjusted earnings of $39.9 billion for the full-year 2022. This comfortably surpasses the $28.4 billion in 2008 which Shell said was the firm’s previous annual record and is more than double the firm’s full-year 2021 profit of $19.29 billion.
Analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected full-year 2022 net profit to come in at $38.3 billion.
For the final quarter of 2022, Shell reported adjusted earnings of $9.8 billion.
Shell announced a $4 billion share buyback program, which is expected to be completed by its first-quarter 2023 results — due out by early May — and a 15% dividend per share increase for the fourth quarter.
“Our results in Q4 and across the full year demonstrate the strength of Shell’s differentiated portfolio, as well as our capacity to deliver vital energy to our customers in a volatile world,” Shell CEO Wael Sawan said in his first earnings statement since taking on the role on Jan. 1.
“We believe that Shell is well positioned to be the trusted partner through the energy transition. As we continue to put our Powering Progress strategy into action, we will build on our core strengths, further simplify the organisation and focus on performance,” he added.
Shell said its cash capital expenditure outlook for 2023 sits between $23 billion to $27 billion.
The results follow in the footsteps of historic annual earnings for U.S. oil majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron, with the West’s largest oil and gas companies expected to rake in combined profits of nearly $200 billion for the year, according to Refinitiv data.
The extraordinary scale of the industry’s earnings has renewed…
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