Anglo-Dutch Company Shell Raises Dividend After Q1 Profit

Anglo-Dutch Company Shell reported slightly better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, amid stronger commodity prices and growing expectations of a fuel demand recovery on Thursday. They raised the dividend by around 4%, its second increase in six months, as the oil major seeks to reassure investors it has gained a more stable footing. This is after the oil giant slashed its payout for the first time since World War II in April last year.

The Anglo-Dutch Company reported earnings of $3.2 billion for the three months through to the end of March. That compared with $2.9 billion over the same period a year earlier and $393 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. According to Refinitiv, Analysts had expected first-quarter adjusted earnings to come in at $3.1 billion.

Ben van Beurden, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, said that it is a strong start to the year and was ideally positioned to benefit from recovering demand. Anglo-Dutch Company confirmed the massive winter storm that engulfed Texas in February had an aggregate impact of around $200 million on first-quarter adjusted earnings. It had warned this was likely to be the case in an update published April 7.

Shares of Shell rose around 1.3% during morning deals in London. The firm’s stock price has climbed more than 9% year-to-date, having tumbled nearly 40% in 2020. Net debt was reduced by $4 billion over the first three months of the year, falling to $71.3 billion. The company has targeted reducing its whopping debt pile to $65 billion as part of its plans for a sustainable future.