Shell Makes as Much Money at $60 a Barrel as When It Was $100

  • Earns as much at $60 a barrel as it did when crude was $100
  • Cash-flow disappointment tempers hope of share buybacks: RBC
Shell's Best Profit in 3 Years Marred by Cash-Flow Drop
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The oil-price rally worked both ways for Royal Dutch Shell Plc as improved exploration and production lifted profit to a three-year high while refining and trading fell short of expectations as margins shrank.

Crude’s surge raised adjusted profit at Europe’s largest energy company to $4.3 billion last quarter, the highest since 2014. While the bottom line was better than expected -- and Shell is making as much money with oil at $60 a barrel as when it was $100 -- cash flow was the weakest since 2016.