Oil giant Shell reveals plans to hike dividend as quarterly profits more than double

Published

3 years ago

October 27, 2022

admin

The logo of Shell on an oil storage silo, beyond railway tanker wagons at the company’s Pernis refinery in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

British oil major Shell on Thursday reported that quarterly profits more than doubled from the same period last year, but lower refining and trading revenues brought an end to its run of record earnings.

Shell posted adjusted earnings of $9.45 billion for the three months through to the end of September, meeting analyst expectations of $9.5 billion according to Refinitiv. The company posted adjusted earnings of $4.1 billion over the same period a year earlier and notched a whopping $11.5 billion for the second quarter of 2022.

The oil giant said it planned to increase its dividend per share by around 15% for the fourth quarter 2022, to be paid out in March 2023. It also announced a new share buyback program, which is set to result in an additional $4 billion of distributions and is expected to be completed by its next earnings release.

Shares of Shell rose 3% during morning deals in London. The firm’s stock price is up over 42% year-to-date.

The London-headquartered oil major reported consecutive quarters of record profits through the first six months of the year, benefitting from surging commodity prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

It has coincided with calls for higher taxes on the bumper profits of Britain’s biggest oil and gas companies, particularly at a time when the country faces a deepening cost-of-living crisis.

Shell warned in an update earlier this month that lower refining and chemicals margins and weaker gas trading were likely to negatively impact third-quarter earnings.

On Thursday, the company said a recovery in global product supply had contributed to lower refining margins in the third quarter, and gas trading earnings had also fallen.

“The trading and optimisation contributions were mainly impacted by a combination of seasonality and supply constraints, coupled with substantial differences between paper and physical realisations in a volatile and dislocated market,” Shell said in its earnings release.

What about renewable investments?

Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said in a statement that the firm’s “robust” results come at a time of ongoing energy market volatility.

“We continue to strengthen Shell’s portfolio through disciplined investment and transform the company for a low-carbon future. At the same time we are working closely with governments and customers to address their short and long-term energy needs,” he added.

In the first nine months of the year, Shell’s investments in its “Renewables & Energy Solutions” sector came to around $2.4 million, roughly 14% of its total cash capital expenditures of $17.5 million.

Notably, Follow This founder Mark van Baal said Shell’s renewables and energy solutions investments include natural gas, a fossil fuel.

“You can’t claim to be in transition if less than 14% of your investments is going to new, renewable energy businesses and at least 86% of your investments remain tied to old, fossil fuel businesses,” van Baal said.

“Without presenting a clear breakdown, it remains unclear how much Shell actually invests in renewable energy.”

Van Baal added, “We still don’t see Shell using this once in a lifetime opportunity to invest in diversification to ensure the long-term future of the company.”

Change in leadership

The group’s results come soon after it was announced CEO Ben van Beurden will step down at the end of the year after nearly a decade at the helm.

Wael Sawan, currently Shell’s director of integrated gas, renewables and energy solutions, will become its next chief executive on Jan. 1.

A dual Lebanese-Canadian national, Sawan has held roles in downstream retail and various commercial projects during his 25-year career at Shell.

“I’m looking forward to channelling the pioneering spirit and passion of our incredible people to rise to the immense challenges, and grasp the opportunities presented by the energy transition,” Sawan said in a statement on Sept. 15, adding that it was an honor to follow van Beurden’s leadership.

“We will be disciplined and value focused, as we work with our customers and partners to deliver the reliable, affordable and cleaner energy the world needs.”

Environment

Troubling times for Tesla, Nissan, and Dodge – plus some fun yellow stuff!

Published

6 hours ago

July 2, 2025

admin

Troubling times for Tesla, Nissan, and Dodge – plus some fun yellow stuff!

Tesla’s Q2 results are in, and they are way, way down from Q2 of 2024. At the same time, Nissan seems to be in serious trouble and the first-ever all-electric Dodge muscle car is getting recalled because its dumb engine noises are the wrong kind of dumb engine noises. All this and more on today’s deeply troubled episode of Quick Charge!

We’ve also got an awesome article from Micah Toll about a hitherto unexplored genre of electric lawn equipment, a $440 million mining equipment deal, and a list of incompetent, corrupt, and stupid politicians who voted away their constituents’ futures to line their pockets.

Source Links

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.

If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Environment

OpenAI says Robinhood’s tokens aren’t equity in the company

Published

8 hours ago

July 2, 2025

admin

OpenAI says Robinhood's tokens aren't equity in the company

Jaque Silva | Nurphoto | Getty Images

OpenAI is distancing itself from Robinhood‘s latest crypto push after the trading platform began offering tokenized shares of OpenAI and SpaceX to users in Europe.

“These ‘OpenAI tokens’ are not OpenAI equity,” OpenAI wrote on X. “We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it.”

The company said that “any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval — we did not approve any transfer,” and warned users to “please be careful.”

Robinhood announced the launch Monday from Cannes, France, as part of a broader product showcase focused on tokenized equities, staking, and a new blockchain infrastructure play. The company’s stock surged above $100 to hit a new all-time high following the news.

“These tokens give retail investors indirect exposure to private markets, opening up access, and are enabled by Robinhood’s ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle,” a Robinhood spokesperson said in response to the OpenAI post.

BYD launches new discounts, offering +50% off smart driving tech

Published

12 hours ago

July 2, 2025

admin

BYD launches new discounts, offering +50% off smart driving tech

Despite the warnings, BYD continues introducing new discounts. On Wednesday, BYD’s luxury off-road brand began offering over 50% Huawei’s smart driving tech.

BYD introduces new discounts on smart driving tech

After BYD cut prices again in May, the China Automobile Manufacturers Association (CAMA) warned that the ultra-low prices are “triggering a new round of price war panic.”

Although they didn’t single out BYD, it was pretty obvious. BYD slashed prices across 22 of its vehicles by up to 34%, triggering several automakers to follow suit in China.

BYD’s cheapest EV, the Seagull, typically starts at about $10,000 (66,800 yuan). After the price cuts, the Seagull is listed at under $8,000 (55,800 yuan).

Advertisement – scroll for more content

It doesn’t look like China’s EV leader plans to slow down anytime soon. Fang Cheng Bao, BYD’s luxury off-road brand, introduced new discounts on Huawei’s smart driving tech on Wednesday.

The limited-time offer cuts the price of Huawei’s Qiankun Intelligent Driving High-end Function Package to just 12,000 yuan ($1,700).

Buyers who order the smart driving tech in July will save over 50% compared to its typical price of 32,000 yuan ($4,500).

Earlier this year, Fang Chang Bao launched the Tai 3, its most affordable vehicle, starting at 139,800 yuan ($19,300). The Tai 3 is about the size of the Tesla Model Y, but costs about half as much.

BYD-Tai-3-electric-SUV — BYD Fang Cheng Bao Tai 3 electric SUV (Source: Fang Cheng Bao)

The Tai 3 will spearhead a new sub-brand of electric SUVs following the more premium Bao 8 and Bao 5 hybrid SUVs.

BYD’s luxury off-road brand sold 18,903 vehicles last month, up 50% from May and 605% compared to last year. Fang Cheng Bao has now sold over 10,000 vehicles for three consecutive months.

The Chinese EV giant sold 382,585 vehicles in total in June, an increase of 12% from last year. In the first half of the year, BYD’s cumulative sales reached over 2.1 million, a YOY increase of 33%.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.