Oil giant Shell posts $6 billion profit beat, launches new share buyback program

British oil giant Shell on Thursday posted a small year-on-year drop in third-quarter profit as a sharp decline in crude prices and lower refining margins were partially offset by higher gas sales.

The energy company reported adjusted earnings of $6 billion for the July-September period, beating analyst expectations of $5.3 billion, according to estimates compiled by LSEG.

Shell posted adjusted earnings of $6.3 billion in the second quarter and $6.2 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

Shell said it will buy back a further $3.5 billion of its shares over the next three months, while holding its dividend unchanged at 34 cents per share.

It marks the 12th consecutive quarter that Shell has announced at least $3 billion in buybacks, Sinead Gorman, chief financial officer at Shell, said in a video presentation.

“This quarter we have delivered another strong set of results despite a less favorable macro environment,” Gorman said.

“This was driven by solid operational performance across our portfolio, continuing the momentum we’ve built over recent quarters,” she added.

Net debt came in at $35.2 billion at the end of the third quarter, down from $40.5 billion when compared to the same period last year.

Shares of the London-listed firm have fallen around 3% year-to-date.

Ahead of the firm’s third-quarter earnings, Shell warned that refining profit margins had dropped by more than 28% on a quarterly basis, while trading results for its chemicals and oil products division were expected to be lower.

Shell said free cash flow rose to $10.83 billion in the third quarter, up from $7.5 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Cash capital expenditure, meanwhile, came in at $4.95 billion, down from $5.65 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

British rival BP on Tuesday posted its weakest quarterly earnings in nearly four years, weighed down by lower refining margins.

BP reported underlying replacement cost profit, used as a proxy for net profit, of $2.3 billion for the third quarter. That beat analyst expectations — but reflected a steep drop when compared to the same period a year earlier.

Oil prices tumbled over 17% in the third quarter amid concerns over the outlook for global oil demand.