Forbes – NY, USA
Shell Loses Its Shine
Lionel Laurent, 07.31.08, 9:10 AM ET
London: Royal Dutch Shell found BP too much of a tough act to follow on Thursday, after failing to match its rival with a solid, but uninspiring set of quarterly results.
Shell’s net profit of $7.8 billion, at aconstant cost of supplies, missed consensus estimates, while BP’s results earlier this week came in ahead of forecasts. (See “BP More Than OK, Despite TNK”) Although oil prices have hit record highs over the past three months, costs are also spiraling and Shell’s exposure to squeezed refining margins have not helped either.
Royal Dutch Shell’s A-class shares fell 11 pence (22 cents), or 0.6%, to 18.26 pounds ($36.28), during afternoon trading in London on Thursday. BP, meanwhile, rose 2.5%, to 523.50 pence ($10.40), in London.
“Even adding back the negative effect of commodity derivatives, Shell’s second-quarter 2008 net income fell short of BP’s for the first time since the second-quarter of 2006,” said Colin Smith, analyst with Dresdner Kleinwort. Shell took $750 million worth of non-cash charges for the quarter, related to the value of its commodity derivatives.
Even though BP (nyse: BP – news –people ) has its own troubles abroad with its TNK-BP venture in Russia, Shell’s(nyse: RDSA – news – people ) exposure to militant attacks in Nigeria meant its production declined over the year, while its refining business suffered from crumbling margins and higher operating costs. With oil at record prices, Shell’s profits from production nonetheless almost doubled, to $5.9 billion, but rising costs and the prospect of heavy spending on ramping up production meant that BP seemed more attractive on Thursday.
Shell said it planned to invest $35-$36 billion in production growth for 2008, a higher-than-expected figure that may have spooked investors, according to Petercam analyst Alexandre Weinberg. But he told Forbes.com that previous estimates of $24-$25 billion did not include acquisitions, and that despite fears over costs, Shell’s upcoming projects were second to none in the industry.
Also on Thursday, America’s Exxon Mobil (nyse: XOM – news – people) posted a record quarterly profit of $11.7 billion–more than any U.S. corporation has ever reported for a three-month period. Spain’s Repsol(nyse: REP – news – people ), meanwhile, reported semi-annual results that beat estimates, on a profit of $2.9 billion.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this article.
http://www.forbes.com/markets/2008/07/31/shell-bp-oil-markets-equity-cx_ll_0730markets08.html
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: 
MORE DETAILS:
A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
