Shell Profit Beats Analyst Estimates on Higher Gas Earnings

Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s biggest oil company, reported first-quarter results that beat analyst forecasts on higher natural gas earnings. The shares rose the most in two years in London.

First-quarter profit excluding one-time items and inventory changes slipped 3 percent to $7.3 billion from a year earlier, The Hague-based Shell said today in a statement. That beat the $5 billion average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.