By Joe Hoppe
Shell said Thursday that earnings fell on quarter for the first quarter of 2023 but beat market expectations, and declared a $4 billion share buyback program.
The oil-and-gas giant generated adjusted earnings of $9.65 billion in the three months through the end of March, beating the market consensus of $7.965 billion, taken from Vara Research and averaged from 28 analysts’ estimates. This was slightly down from $9.81 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022 but exceeds the $9.13 billion reported in the first quarter of 2022.
Compared with the fourth quarter, Shell’s profits were hit by unfavorable tax movements and lower oil-and-gas prices, partially offset by lower operating expenses and higher Chemicals and Products trading and optimization results. The company also booked impairment charges of around $0.5 billion.
Net income was $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to $10.41 billion in the fourth quarter and $7.12 billion in the first quarter of 2022.
Shell declared a dividend of 28.75 cents a share for the period, flat on the fourth quarter of 2022, and said it will complete a $4 billion share buyback program by the time it announces its second-quarter results in late July.
Write to Joe Hoppe at joseph.hoppe@wsj.com
