The oil giant Shell has reported profits almost doubled from $9.8bn to $18.6bn (\u00a311.5bn) for 2010 partly thanks to rising oil prices and output.<\/p>\n
Its chief executive, Peter Voser, said the company had made good progress and that there was “still more to come”.<\/p>\n
During the year, the company made $7bn of acquisitions and invested $3bn in exploration.<\/p>\n
For the final quarter Shell made profits of $5.7bn, compared with $1.2bn for the same period in 2009.<\/p>\n
Despite the strong gains, Shell’s shares fell more than 2% in early trading.<\/p>\n
Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers said shares had risen 27% over the past year and investors were taking profits: “Net income was well above expectations and a significant improvement on the previous year.”<\/p>\n
The fourth-quarter results are in line with rival BP, which earlier this week reported a profit of $4.6bn for that period, although the cost of sorting out the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico left BP with an annual loss.<\/p>\n
Shell’s results are reported on a current cost basis, which strips out fluctuations in the value of the oil stocks it has not sold.<\/p>\n
The price of US crude oil prices averaged about $85 a barrel in the fourth quarter, up from $76 in the fourth quarter of 2009.<\/p>\n
Brent crude this week hit $102 a barrel in London – its highest price since 2008.<\/p>\n
Shell said it planned at least $25bn in capital expenditure this year.<\/p>\n
The company now produces almost as much gas as oil, and the company is expecting gas output to outstrip oil in 2012.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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