Shell Profit Beats Analyst Estimates After Refining Gains
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Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the oil producer buying BG Group Plc for $70 billion, reported first-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates as refining and trading earnings countered part of the drop in crude prices.
Profit adjusted for one-time items and inventory changes fell 56 percent to $3.2 billion from a year earlier, beating the $2.5 billion average of 12 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Spending for this year will be cut by about $2 billion to $33 billion or less, The Hague-based Shell said Thursday in a statement.