Post by Said1 on Oct 27, 2005 13:50:06 GMT -5
Duh. Wow, who didn't see this coming??
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Shell Profit Surges to Record for the Oil Industry
Corrects to say record for oil industry, adds investor comments in 14th paragraph.)
By Stephen Voss and Mathew Carr
Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc reported a third-quarter profit of $9 billion, a record for the oil industry, because of a pipeline sale and surging energy prices.
The result included a gain of $1.77 billion from the natural- gas network sale. Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer today said new projects are about to start in Oman and Nigeria and Shell's drilling for new fields has been encouraging, after the company last year admitted lying about its reserves. The revelation led to the downfall of his predecessor, investor lawsuits and fines.
``The results are great but the key thing is the stability of the strategy,'' said Yoon-Chou Chong, the head of European equities at Aberdeen Asset Management, who manages $6.5 billion, including Shell shares. ``We've been one of the keener supporters of Shell through the crisis,'' he said. ``There are still a lot of reluctant investors out there I'm sure.''
Net income at Europe's second-largest oil company equaled $1.35 a share. A year earlier the company had a profit of $5.37 billion, or 79 cents a share, Shell said today in a statement from The Hague. The shares rose as much as 1.9 percent in London as most other oil stocks fell.
Oil prices peaked at $70.85 a barrel in New York and natural gas set a record after Hurricane Katrina at the end of August, boosting earnings across the industry. Exxon Mobil Corp., which reports profit later today, had its record profit of $8.42 billion in the fourth quarter of last year.
Shell was the hardest-hit oil company by Katrina and another U.S. hurricane last month, Rita. The Mars offshore platform, which pumped about 5 percent of its oil, will stay shut for at least eight more months of repairs, the company said today.
Beating Estimates
Before gains from the gas pipeline sale, other one-time items and gains from holding inventories, profit was $5.8 billion, surpassing the median analyst estimate of $5.4 billion in a Bloomberg survey.
``We captured the benefit of high oil and gas prices and refinery margins, even after the impact of hurricanes in the U.S.,'' Van der Veer said during a conference call with reporters.
Shell class B shares in London rose as much as 33 pence, or 1.9 percent, to 1,810 pence, trading at 1,801 pence at 11:47 a.m. local time. They have gained 16 percent this year, compared with a 21 percent increase at BP Plc and 10 percent at Exxon.
Double GE Earnings
Shell's third-quarter net income was about twice that of General Electric Co., the world's biggest company by market value. Shell is the sixth-biggest by value.
The biggest quarterly profit is from MediaOne Group Inc. In the second quarter of 1998, the U.S. cable company had quarterly earnings of $26.6 billion, which included a one-time gain of $24.5 billion for the company's separation from the former U.S. West Media Group, public filings show.
The world's five biggest oil companies may report combined net income of $26 billion for the third quarter, up 23 percent from a year earlier, Credit Suisse First Boston said earlier this month. That's equal to the economic output of Hungary. The five companies are Shell, Exxon Mobil, London-based BP, Total SA of Paris and Chevron Corp.
Read Rest Here
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Shell Profit Surges to Record for the Oil Industry
Corrects to say record for oil industry, adds investor comments in 14th paragraph.)
By Stephen Voss and Mathew Carr
Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc reported a third-quarter profit of $9 billion, a record for the oil industry, because of a pipeline sale and surging energy prices.
The result included a gain of $1.77 billion from the natural- gas network sale. Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer today said new projects are about to start in Oman and Nigeria and Shell's drilling for new fields has been encouraging, after the company last year admitted lying about its reserves. The revelation led to the downfall of his predecessor, investor lawsuits and fines.
``The results are great but the key thing is the stability of the strategy,'' said Yoon-Chou Chong, the head of European equities at Aberdeen Asset Management, who manages $6.5 billion, including Shell shares. ``We've been one of the keener supporters of Shell through the crisis,'' he said. ``There are still a lot of reluctant investors out there I'm sure.''
Net income at Europe's second-largest oil company equaled $1.35 a share. A year earlier the company had a profit of $5.37 billion, or 79 cents a share, Shell said today in a statement from The Hague. The shares rose as much as 1.9 percent in London as most other oil stocks fell.
Oil prices peaked at $70.85 a barrel in New York and natural gas set a record after Hurricane Katrina at the end of August, boosting earnings across the industry. Exxon Mobil Corp., which reports profit later today, had its record profit of $8.42 billion in the fourth quarter of last year.
Shell was the hardest-hit oil company by Katrina and another U.S. hurricane last month, Rita. The Mars offshore platform, which pumped about 5 percent of its oil, will stay shut for at least eight more months of repairs, the company said today.
Beating Estimates
Before gains from the gas pipeline sale, other one-time items and gains from holding inventories, profit was $5.8 billion, surpassing the median analyst estimate of $5.4 billion in a Bloomberg survey.
``We captured the benefit of high oil and gas prices and refinery margins, even after the impact of hurricanes in the U.S.,'' Van der Veer said during a conference call with reporters.
Shell class B shares in London rose as much as 33 pence, or 1.9 percent, to 1,810 pence, trading at 1,801 pence at 11:47 a.m. local time. They have gained 16 percent this year, compared with a 21 percent increase at BP Plc and 10 percent at Exxon.
Double GE Earnings
Shell's third-quarter net income was about twice that of General Electric Co., the world's biggest company by market value. Shell is the sixth-biggest by value.
The biggest quarterly profit is from MediaOne Group Inc. In the second quarter of 1998, the U.S. cable company had quarterly earnings of $26.6 billion, which included a one-time gain of $24.5 billion for the company's separation from the former U.S. West Media Group, public filings show.
The world's five biggest oil companies may report combined net income of $26 billion for the third quarter, up 23 percent from a year earlier, Credit Suisse First Boston said earlier this month. That's equal to the economic output of Hungary. The five companies are Shell, Exxon Mobil, London-based BP, Total SA of Paris and Chevron Corp.
Read Rest Here