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The UK-based firm said its adjusted earnings reached $5.58 billion in the first quarter, down compared to $7.73 billion in the comparable quarter last year.
Adjusted earnings rose 52 percent compared to $3.66 billion in the prior quarter.
Income attributable to Shell shareholders reached $4.78 billion, down compared to $7.35 billion in the first quarter of 2024 and a 415 percent increase compared to $928 million in the prior quarter.
Compared to the prior quarter, income attributable to Shell shareholders reflected lower exploration well write-offs, lower operating expenses, and higher products margins, Shell said.
Also, income attributable to Shell shareholders included a charge of $0.5 billion related to the UK energy profits levy and impairment charges.
Shell said these items are included in identified items amounting to a net loss of $0.8 billion in the quarter.
Cash flow from operating activities for the first quarter was $9.3 billion and was primarily driven by adjusted Ebitda, partly offset by tax payments of $2.9 billion and working capital outflows of $2.7 billion.
CEO Wael Sawan said Shell delivered “another solid set of results” in the first quarter of 2025.
“We further strengthened our leading LNG business by completing the acquisition of Pavilion Energy, and high-graded our portfolio with the completion of the Nigeria onshore and the Singapore rnergy and chemicals park divestments,” he said.
“Our strong performance and resilient balance sheet give us the confidence to commence another $3.5 billion of buybacks for the next three months, consistent with the strategic direction we set out at our capital markets day in March,” Sawan said.
LNG sales
The company sold 16.49 million tonnes of LNG in January-March, a drop from 16.87 million tonnes of LNG in the same period last year.
LNG sales rose 6 percent compared to 15.50 million tonnes in the prior quarter.
Shell sold 65.82 million tonnes of LNG in 2024, a 2 percent decrease from 67.09 million tonnes of LNG in 2023.
Moreover, liquefaction volumes of 6.60 million tonnes in the first quarter were 6 percent lower than in the prior quarter and down 12.9 percent compared to 7.58 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2024.
Shell said liquefaction volumes decreased by 6 percent compared to the prior quarter mainly due to unplanned maintenance and weather constraints in Australia.
The company expects liquefaction volumes to reach about 6.3 – 6.9 million tonnes in the second quarter of 2025.
Shell’s total oil and gas production dropped to 927,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first quarter compared to 992,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first quarter last year, but it rose compared to 905,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the prior quarter.
Oil and gas production increased by 2 percent compared with the prior quarter, mainly due to lower planned maintenance in Pearl GTL (Qatar), partly offset by unplanned maintenance and weather constraints in Australia, according to Shell.
Integrated gas earnings drop
Shell’s integrated gas segment reported adjusted earnings of about $2.48 billion in the first quarter.
This compares to $3.68 billion in the same period in 2024 and $2.16 billion in the prior quarter.
Compared with the prior quarter, adjusted earnings reflected lower exploration well write-offs ($277 million), partly offset by lower LNG liquefaction volumes (decrease of $68 million), Shell said.
“The net effect of contributions from trading and optimisation and realised prices was in line with the fourth quarter 2024 despite higher unfavourable (non-cash) impact of expiring hedging contracts,” Shell said.
Last month, the company announced that it expects trading and optimization results for its integrated gas business in the first quarter of 2025 to be “in line with Q4’24, despite a higher (non-cash) impact from expiring hedge contracts compared to the previous quarter.”