Shell revenues surge 37% thanks to rising oil price

FTSE 100 oil majors have been boosted by the rising price of Brent crude: Reuters

Royal Dutch Shell reported one of its “strongest-ever quarters” as earnings jumped 37 per cent, helped by a rise in oil prices.

Underlying earnings rose to $5.6bn (£4.4bn) in the three months to the end of September, up from $4.1bn last year. Despite the rise, the results still came in below analysts’ expectations.

BP this week reported that its profits more than doubled in the third quarter to $3.8bn from $1.86bn a year earlier, its best quarterly result for five years.

Both FTSE 100 oil majors have been boosted by the rising price of Brent crude which is up from $66 a barrel in January to just under $75 on Thursday.

The Anglo-Dutch company announced it would purchase $2.5bn of its own shares, the second tranche of a huge buyback scheme aimed at boosting shareholder returns after it splashed out £47bn to acquire BG in 2016.

Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden said: “Good operational delivery across all Shell businesses produced one of our strongest ever quarters, with cash flow from operations of $14.7bn, excluding working capital movements.

“Our strong financial performance allowed us to cover the cash dividend, interest payments, share buybacks and to further pay down debt,” he added.

Shell also said it was on track with its asset sales, with the group focusing on an ambitious cost-cutting drive and a $30 billion (£23 billion) divestment initiative since the industry has been buffeted by the 2014 oil price crash.

Oil prices had remained low before rising steadily this year meaning painful increases at the pumps for drivers.

However, brent crude has begun to fall this week as global supply increases and the outlook for the world economy worsens.