Shell's third-quarter profits beat expectations

Shell exceeded third-quarter profits forecasts Thursday thanks to strong results in its gas division. It also said that it would continue its $3.5 billion share buyback program over the next 3 months.

Oil major BP said that adjusted earnings, which is its definition of net profits, dropped 10% on an annual basis to $5.4 billion from July to September, due to lower oil prices. The company's polled analysts estimated a $5.09 billion average, but the adjusted earnings were higher.

Shell has pledged to buy back shares for the 16th quarter in a row, returning at least $3 billion per quarter via repurchasing of shares.

Shell, the largest trader of liquefied gas in the world, reported a quarterly cash flow of $12.2 billion. This is down from $14.7 during the same period last year.

The integrated gas business generated a profit of $2.14 billion in 2013, which was above the analysts' estimates of $1.97 billion but lower than last year's $2.87.

The upstream unit profit of $1,8 billion was also higher than analysts' expectations of $1.6 billion but lower than last year's $2.44 Billion.

Brent futures averaged $68 per barrel during the quarter, down from the $78 average last year in the same time period.

The benchmark Dutch front month gas contract at TTF hub averaged 32.04 euros per Megawatt Hour in the quarter compared to 35.6 euros per MWH in the third quarter 2024.

The average price of front-month gas futures at the New York Mercantile Exchange was $3.07 for a million British thermal unit in the quarter, compared to $2.23 in the same period last year. Reporting by Stephanie Kelly & Shadia Nasralla. (Editing by Tomaszjanowski and Mark Potter.)

(source: Reuters)