Oil and gas super majors Shell and Exxon Mobil have announced dramatic falls in their Q1 profits following the sharp drop in oil prices, according to BBC news.
Underlying first-quarter profits at Shell fell 56% from a year earlier to $3.2bn. This reduced figure still beat analysts expectations of profits of about $2.5bn.
Exxon Mobil reported a first-quarter profit of $4.9bn, down from $9.1bn last year, but this also beat forecasts.
Both firms saw improved profits at their refining businesses. Shell’s downstream business, which includes refining, saw profits rise 68% from a year earlier to $2.65bn.
All oil companies have been affected by the sharp fall in the price of oil over the past year.
After peaking at about $115 a barrel in the summer of 2014, the price more than halved, although it has recovered slightly since the beginning of the year.
Earlier in the week, UK oil giant BP also reported a fall in underlying profits. However, as with Shell and Exxon, the fall was less than had been feared, with BP’s refining business also helping to bolster its results.
profits at the upstream business, which includes exploration and production, dived 88% to $657m.
Announcing Shell’s first-quarter results, chief executive Ben van Beurden said: “Our results reflect the strength of our integrated business activities, against a backdrop of lower oil prices.
“In what is clearly a difficult industry environment, we continue to take steps to further improve competitive performance by redoubling our efforts to drive a sharper focus on the bottom line in Shell.”
Shell said it had sold $2bn of assets so far this year. Including the proceeds of asset sales, Shell’s first-quarter profits rose 7% to $4.76bn.
