Shell's underlying earnings nearly doubled to 10.81 billion US dollars (£8.12 billion) for the three months to September 30, significantly outperforming expectations and more than double the 5.43 billion dollars (£4.08 billion) reported for the same quarter a year earlier. The FTSE 100 oil giant attributed the surge to continued high oil prices caused by the Iran war, with crude climbing past 100 dollars a barrel. The company announced an additional five billion US dollars (£3.75 billion) in share buybacks before year-end, prompting its shares to rise 3% on Thursday morning.
Shell's adjusted earnings at its chemicals and products unit, which includes its oil trading business, surged to 3.86 billion dollars (£2.9 billion) in the third quarter, compared with just 550 million dollars (£412.9 million) a year ago. Wael Sawan, Shell's chief executive, said the company's "relentless focus on operational performance enabled very strong results in a quarter with continued severe disruption to the global energy system." The Middle East conflict has disrupted global energy supplies, with the Strait of Hormuz shipping route remaining closed, keeping oil prices elevated with no clear end in sight.
The profit announcement drew criticism from campaigners and charities, who noted the contrast between Shell's strong returns and the financial pressures facing UK households and motorists. Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: "Shell earns more in sixty seconds than most people in this country manage in twelve months." Chancellor John Healey did not increase windfall taxes on oil and gas firms in Wednesday's budget despite calls to use the sector's profits to help households with energy costs.
Shell's chief financial officer, Sinead Gorman, told reporters the company was assessing the autumn budget's implications but stressed that a "stable and predictable tax policy" remained vital. She welcomed the Government's approval of the Jackdaw gas field and called on the Energy Secretary to greenlight the Rosebank oil and gas field, part-owned by Shell, arguing it would "generate tax revenues and support jobs" in the UK. Environmental groups countered that Rosebank would worsen climate change, with Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace warning the decision would represent either a climate success or failure for the Government.