THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
28 APRIL 20010 By James Herron Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
LONDON (Dow Jones)–Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) Wednesday posted a consensus-beating 60% rise in adjusted profit for the first quarter due to higher oil prices and output that grew much faster than expected.
“We are making good progress in improving our near-term performance, delivering a new wave of production growth,” said Chief Executive Officer Peter Voser. “Our results reflected the successful ramp-up of our new upstream projects in Russia and Brazil, supporting a 6% increase in our production.”
The Anglo-Dutch energy company said the clean current cost of supplies, a keenly-watched figure that strips out gains or losses from inventories and other non-operating items, was $4.82 billion in the three months ended March 31, compared with $3.01 billion during the same period a year earlier.
This was well above expectations of $3.98 billion in a Dow Jones Newswires poll of 12 analysts.
Total oil and gas production was 3.594 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, an increase of 5.8% on the year as new projects started in Brazil and Russia. Analysts were expecting production to rise 0.2%.
Shell has beaten all expectations, said ING analyst Jason Kenney. Performance is stronger than expected, “across the board, in upstream and downstream,” he said. Oil and gas production is well ahead of analysts’ estimates and, “significantly improved LNG sales appear to be behind it,” he said.
Liquefied natural gas sales were up 38% on the first quarter of 2009, “reflecting the successful ramp-up in sales volumes from Sakhalin II LNG and improved volumes from Nigeria LNG,” Shell said. Total natural gas production was up 12%, far outstripping the increase in crude production, which rose just 1%.
Shell’s refining and marketing division also showed a surprisingly strong swing back into profit. From an adjusted loss of $427 million in the fourth quarter of last year, which is widely seen as having been the nadir of the refining industry, Shell posted an adjusted profit of $778 million this quarter.
Net profit for the quarter totaled $5.48 billion, up 57% from $3.49 billion a year ago.
Group revenues were $88.03 billion, compared with $59.44 billion in the second quarter of 2009.
Diluted earnings per share were 89 cents compared with 57 cents the previous year.
Shell B shares closed at 1,922 pence Tuesday, up 25.7% over the past 12 months as the oil price has rebounded.
Company Web site: http://www.shell.com
-By James Herron, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9317; [email protected]
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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.
