Shell Plc said its profits surged in the first quarter as the Iran war drove oil and gas prices higher and the conflict caused a surge in volatility that boosted its big trading business.
Adjusted net income rose to $6.92 billion, the London-based company said in a statement. That beat the $6.1 billion median estimate of analysts compiled by Bloomberg. Refining margins also jumped because of soaring fuel prices. Shell cut its buyback to $3 billion from $3.5 billion.
The Iran war damaged oil and gas assets across the Middle East and all but halted shipments from the region, causing sharp increases in energy prices and market volatility. That benefitted European giants with large trading desks able to deal with those movements.
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Brent oil prices have increased more than 50% since the conflict began at the end of February. They retreated from war-time highs and hovered around $101 a barrel on Thursday following a report Wednesday that the US and Iran are nearing a deal to end the conflict.
Shell, which already flagged strong trading, is the final Western oil supermajor to report quarterly earnings. Profits for European competitors BP Plc and TotalEnergies SE soared because of strong trading performances during the war.
US peers Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp. also benefited from elevated oil and gas prices, but experienced production outages — particularly Exxon — and negative impacts from derivatives positions.
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