SHELL LOSS $21.7 BLN

SHELL - Feb 4, 2021 - On Thursday February 4, 2021 at 07:00 GMT (08:00 CET and 02:00 EST) Royal Dutch Shell plc released its fourth quarter results and fourth interim dividend announcement for 2020.

 

Income attributable to Royal Dutch Shell plc shareholders amounted to a loss of $4.0 billion for the fourth quarter 2020, which included post-tax impairment charges of $2.7 billion and charges of $1.1 billion mainly due to onerous contract provisions. Fourth quarter 2020 results reflected lower realised prices for oil and LNG as well as lower production volumes and realised refining margins compared with the fourth quarter 2019. This was partly offset by lower operating expenses and higher chemicals margins.

Cost of supplies adjustment attributable to Royal Dutch Shell plc shareholders for the fourth quarter 2020 was negative $0.5 billion.

Adjusted Earnings were $0.4 billion for the fourth quarter 2020, reflecting lower realised prices for oil and LNG as well as lower production volumes and realised refining margins compared with the fourth quarter 2019. This was partly offset by lower operating expenses and higher chemicals margins.

Cash flow from operating activities for the fourth quarter 2020 was $6.3 billion, which included cash outflows from commodity derivatives of $0.9 billion and negative working capital movements of $0.3 billion. Cash flow from investing activities for the quarter was an outflow of $5.4 billion, driven mainly by capital expenditure.

Net debt was $75.4 billion at the end of the fourth quarter 2020, compared with $73.5 billion at the end of the third quarter 2020, mainly driven by lower free cash flow generation and by lease additions, partly offset by favourable foreign currency exchange translation differences. Gearing was 32.2% at the end of the fourth quarter 2020, compared with 31.4% at the end of the third quarter 2020, mainly driven by increased net debt and reduced earnings, partly offset by favourable foreign currency exchange translation differences and a reduction in pensions deficit. 

Total dividends distributed to Royal Dutch Shell plc shareholders in the quarter were $1.3 billion. The Board expects that the first quarter 2021 interim dividend will be US$0.1735 per share, an increase of ~4% over the US dollar dividend for the fourth quarter 2020.

 

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