Shell posts quarterly loss as charge offsets oil surge
Royal Dutch Shell reported a net loss for the third quarter as a huge sum written off by the energy giant offset a surge in oil prices
Reuters
AFP
Friday, 29 October 2021
Royal Dutch Shell reported a net loss for the third quarter as a huge sum written off by the energy giant offset a surge in oil prices.
Shell also announced plans to cut carbon emissions but its target was far from meeting a recent Dutch court order for a 45-percent reduction in its greenhouse gases by 2030.
Shell said its loss after tax came in at $447 million in the three months to the end of September after writing off $5.2 billion linked to commodity derivatives.
Stripping out the charge, adjusted earnings soared to $4.13 billion from $955 million in the third quarter of 2020.
Earlier this month, the group had already warned of a financial hit from the recent Hurricane Ida of about $400 million.
Shell said adjusted earnings benefited from higher oil and gas prices.
Energy prices have soared over the past year, pushing up inflation which threatens to weigh on the global economic recovery.
Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden said that the group had "generated record cash flow and maintained capital discipline" in the third quarter.