Silvia Amaro | @Silvia_Amaro: 2 Feb 2017
Oil major Royal Dutch Shell posted fourth-quarter earnings of $1.0 billion, compared with $1.8 billion for the same quarter a year ago.
Ben van Beurden, chief executive officer of Royal Dutch Shell, said that such earnings figures do not “look good” for investors but he is “very pleased” with the performance for the full year as the company completed its merger with gas utility BG. Shares were 1.5 percent higher in early trade on Thursday.
“Bare with us as we integrate two companies,” van Beurden told reporters during a conference call. “2016 was the transition year, 2017 needs to be the delivery year,” he added.
Shell took over BG Group in 2016 in a $52 billion deal that created the world’s largest trader of liquefied natural gas.
Van Beurden said that market conditions and the internal adjustments in the company led to the lower-than-expected earnings. An expected charge of $430 million at its integrated gas division, which related to the impact of the weakening Australian dollar, also had an impact on earnings.
“We are reshaping Shell and delivered a good cash flow performance this quarter with over $9 billion in cash flow from operations. Debt has been reduced and, for the second consecutive quarter, free cash flow more than covered our cash dividend,” van Beurden said in the report.
Using the current cost of supplies (CCS) earnings attributable to shareholders figure, a key metric used to gauge earnings for oil majors, the oil giant said full-year earnings came in at $3.5 billion, compared with $3.8 billion in 2015.
Cash flow from operating activities for the fourth quarter of 2016 was $9.2 billion, which included negative working capital movements of $0.6 billion. A year ago, cash flow had stood at $5.4 billion, which included favorable working capital movements of $1.6 billion.
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
