Shell buyback again, ends year 2021 on high note, hike dividend

 Shell buyback again

 Ends year 2021 on high note, hike dividend

Shell shares were up 0.8% by 0827 GMT.

Shell, which moved its headquarters from The Hague to London last month, said it expected to increase its dividend by 4% in the first quarter of 2022 to $0.25 per share.

The company also announced it will buy back $8.5 billion worth of shares in the first half of 2022, including $5.5 billion from the sale of its Permian shale assets in the United States.

That compares with share buybacks totalling $3.5 billion in 2021.

Shell  again boosted its dividend and share repurchases on Thursday after fourth quarter profits hit their highest in eight years, fuelled by higher oil and gas prices and strong gas trading performance.

Natural gas and electricity prices around the world have soared since the middle of last year on tight gas supplies and higher demand as economies rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Benchmark European gas prices and Asian LNG prices hit all-time highs in the fourth quarter.

Shell, the largest trader of liquefied natural gas (LNG), said its integrated gas earnings were boosted by "significantly higher" profits from trading. LNG sales grew in the fourth quarter to 16.72 million tonnes despite unplanned maintenance at its flagship Prelude floating LNG plant in Australia.

Fourth-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings rose by 55% from the previous quarter to $6.4 billion, well above an average analyst forecast https://vara-services.com/shell provided by the company for a $5.2 billion profit. That compares with earnings of $393 million a year earlier.

For the year, Shell's adjusted earnings rose to $19.3 billion, compared with $4.85 billion in 2020.

The energy company said it planned this year's spending at the lower end of the $23-$27 billion after spending $20 billion in 2021.

Net debt dropped sharply throughout the year to $52.55 billion from $75.4 billion at the end of 2020. Shell's debt-to-capital ratio, or gearing, dropped to 23.1% from 32.2% over the same period.

Shell's cash generation soared by a third to $45 billion in 2021 as global economic activity recovered from the pandemic slump and oil and gas prices soared.