Shell Swings to 4Q Net Loss, Performance Misses Expectations -- Update
04 Febrero 2021 - 2:12AM
Noticias Dow Jones
--Shell ended 2020 with a $4 billion loss in the fourth quarter,
dragged by impairments and other one-offs
--Adjusted CCS earnings came in at a profit but below the market
consensus
--Net debt increased to more than $75 billion.
By Jaime Llinares Taboada
Royal Dutch Shell PLC on Thursday posted a loss for the fourth
quarter of the year as its underlying performance was worse than
expected.
The Anglo-Dutch oil-and-gas major booked a net loss of $4.01
billion for the three months to Dec. 31, swinging from a $489
million profit for the third quarter and a $965 million profit for
the fourth quarter of 2019. This was largely caused by impairment
charges of $2.7 billion and $1.1 billion in costs related to
contract provisions.
The full-year loss was $21.68 billion compared with a $15.84
billion profit for 2019.
Fourth-quarter adjusted earnings on a current cost of supplies
basis came in at $393 million, down from $955 million in the third
quarter and below the market consensus of $597 million, taken from
Vara Research and based on 25 analysts' forecasts. The metric is a
figure similar to the net income that U.S. oil companies report,
but strips out exceptional items.
Adjusted CCS earnings were been $2.93 billion in the fourth
quarter of 2019. The FTSE 100 company said the on-year decline was
driven by lower realized prices for oil and liquefied natural gas,
as well as lower production and realized refining margins.
Operating cash flow fell to $6.29 billion from $10.40 billion
for the third quarter and from $10.27 billion for a year
earlier.
Shell declared a quarterly dividend of $0.1665, bringing the
full-year payment to $0.653--down from $1.88 in 2019. In addition,
the company anticipated a payment of $0.1735 a share for the first
quarter of 2021.
Net debt as at the end of the year was $75.4 billion, up from
$73.5 billion at the end of the third quarter, driven by lower free
cash flow generation and lease additions.
Shell has a target to reduce net debt to $65 billion before
distributing 20%-30% of cash flow from operations to shareholders
through dividends and share buybacks.
Looking ahead, Shell warned that headwinds will continue in the
first quarter of 2021. "As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, there
continues to be significant uncertainty in the macroeconomic
conditions with an expected negative impact on demand for oil, gas
and related products."
Write to Jaime Llinares Taboada at jaime.llinares@wsj.com;
@JaimeLlinaresT
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 04, 2021 02:57 ET (07:57 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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