Europe’s largest oil firm Royal Dutch Shell has beaten analyst expectations, reporting profits for its second quarter that are three times larger than this time last year.
Here are the key second-quarter metrics:
- Revenue: $72.13 billion vs. expected $67.78 billion, according to Thomson Reuters
- Net profit (on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis) $3.6 billion, up 245 percent from $1 billion for the second quarter of 2016.
Higher contributions from downstream (the refining of petroleum crude oil) driven by improved operational performance and stronger chemicals and refining industry conditions were one of the main reasons for the firm’s performance. Upstream (oil exploration) also supported the results with higher prices and production in new fields, the company said.
Ben van Beurden, chief executive officer at Royal Dutch Shell said in a statement: “Cash generation has been resilient over four consecutive quarters, at an average oil price of just under $50 per barrel.”
Indeed, low oil prices continue to be a drag to the sector with crude trading below $50 a barrel. Shell promised to “remain very disciplined” to avoid seeing earnings impacted by the low prices of oil.