Rome, Europe Brief News – Shell has reported profits of nearly $9.5bn (£8.2bn) between July and September.
The amount is more than double of the profit it made during the same period a year earlier.
The oil company continued to benefit from soaring energy prices prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But it was not able to match the record $11.5bn profit it earned between April and June, because of weaker refining and gas trading.
Despite this, the FTSE 100 company’s third quarter earnings were higher than the $9bn forecasts by analysts, and were more than double the $4.1bn reported in the same quarter in 2021.
Oil companies’ bumper profits have prompted calls for higher taxes on the sector, and are likely to lead to fresh demands from political parties including Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens, as well as from environmental campaigners, for the new government led by Rishi Sunak to look again at a higher windfall tax on oil companies.
The results came as the Anglo-Dutch firm announced plans to buy $4bn of stock over the next three months in an extension of its share repurchasing programme. It intends to complete the programme by the start of February 2023.
Shell and other big oil and gas companies have been enjoying soaring profits and booming trade since the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine in late February pushed oil and gas prices higher. This has come in stark contrast to households and businesses, who have been struggling with rocketing energy bills.
