Shell Q4 profit soars to $6.4 billion on higher commodity prices

Shell reported on Thursday an increase in its fourth quarter 2021 profits to US $6.4 billion due to higher commodity prices.

The total cash flow excluding working capital rose to US $55 billion in 2021 and US $11.1 billion for the fourth quarter of 2021, the company said. Fourth quarter earnings rose by 55 percent in comparison to the third quarter.

“We delivered very strong financial performance in 2021, and our financial strength and discipline underpin the transformation of our company,” Shell plc Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said in a statement, calling 2021 a “momentous year” for the energy giant.

“Today we are stepping up our distributions with the announcement of an $8.5 billion share buyback programme and we expect to increase our dividend per share by around 4 percent for Q1 2022,” he added.

The share buybacks are for the first half of 2022, including the remaining US $5.5 billion of Permian divestment proceeds, the company said.

Shell expects to increase its dividend by 4 percent to $0.25 per share in the first quarter of 2022.

With the earnings in the final quarter, Shell reported adjusted earnings of US $19.29 billion for the full-year 2021, in comparison to US $4.85 billion in 2020.