Shell posts highest profits in company history as oil, gas prices remain high following Ukraine invasion
Europe's largest energy company returned $26 billion to shareholders
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Shell reported a record-breaking year of profit, posting the highest annual earnings in the company’s 115-year history.
"This was a truly stunning set of numbers from Shell, way ahead of what forecasts had penciled in and the highest profit in its entire history," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
Europe's largest energy company reported 2022 adjusted earnings of $39.87 billion, a 109% increase from the prior year. The number broke the previous record of $31 billion set in 2008.
Full year revenue was $381.31 billion, up from $261.5 million prior year.
Fourth quarter adjusted earnings increased 4% to $9.8 billion, topping analyst forecasts of $8 billion. Revenue rose to $101.3 billion from $85.28 billon.
The growth came despite oil and gas prices sliding compared to the third quarter.
A gas pump is seen in a car at a Shell gas station in Washington, D.C., on May 15, 2021. (Reuters/Andrew Kelly / Reuters Photos)
"Shell needs to be careful, already oil and gas prices have retreated from their 2022 highs and if it pursues profit today at the expense of making the business sustainable for the future it may be judged harshly by the markets," Mould said.
London-based Shell also announced around $26 billion in shareholder distributions.
"Shareholders will be pretty pleased though, given news of a new multi-billion-dollar buyback. It feels somewhat telling that, for all the fine words about the energy transition, Shell has returned more to shareholders than it has spent on renewables this year," Mould opined.
Gas prices have remained high following the Russian invasion of Ukraine as Western sanctions against Moscow forced Russian officials to take a hard-line stance on energy supplies. European nations have struggled to find alternatives.
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Headlights of passing vehicles trace light trails on a road while the price board from a gas station displays prices in the background in Dresden, Germany, on Dec. 28, 2022. (Sebastian Kahnert/picture alliance via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The record profit prompted anger from opposition parties in Britain who labeled the profits "outrageous" and urged greater taxation of the energy industry, NPR reported.
Shell noted that it does not plan to pay any U.K. tax this year as it expects to offset investments and other costs against its profits.
Shell isn’t the only company reporting record earnings.
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Exxon
Shell isn’t the only company reporting record earnings. (iStock / iStock)
EXXON’S RECORD PROFITS IRK WHITE HOUSE IN ENERGY BLAME GAME
ExxonMobil posted a $56 billion net profit for 2022, the company said Tuesday, taking home about $6.3 million per hour last year, and setting not only a company record but a historic high for the Western oil industry.
"It’s outrageous that Exxon has posted a new record for Western oil company profits after the American people were forced to pay such high prices at the pump amid Putin’s invasion," White House assistant press secretary Abdullah Hassan said Wednesday.
"The latest earnings reports make clear that oil companies have everything they need, including record profits and thousands of unused but approved permits, to increase production, but they’re instead choosing to plow those profits into padding the pockets of executives and shareholders while House Republicans manufacture excuse after excuse to shield them from any accountability," he added.
Chevron
Chevron Corp on Friday posted a record $36.5 billion profit for 2022 that was more than double year-earlier earnings, but the bottom line fell shy of Wall Street estimates, undercut by asset writedowns and rising costs.
The second largest U.S. oil producer's adjusted net profit for 2022 exceeded its previous record set in 2011 by about $10 billion. Still, higher expenses and weaker oil and fuel profits left fourth-quarter earnings 6.6% below Wall Street's forecast, according to Refinitiv data.
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FOX Business' Joe Toppe and Reuters contributed to this report.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SHEL | SHELL PLC | 64.74 | -0.17 | -0.26% |
| XOM | EXXON MOBIL CORP. | 118.06 | +0.44 | +0.37% |
| CVX | CHEVRON CORP. | 161.93 | -0.18 | -0.11% |