-- Shell (SHEL.L, SHELL.AS) on Thursday announced a new share repurchase program as it reported a year-on-year increase in first-quarter results.
The UK-headquartered oil and gas major launched a $3 billion share buyback for the next three months, following the recent completion of a previous $3.5 billion share repurchase. The group intends to complete the fresh buyback by the time it releases its second-quarter results.
Additionally, Shell's board declared an interim dividend of $0.3906 per share for the quarter, up from $0.358 per share a year earlier.
For the three months ended March 31, Shell's adjusted earnings amounted to $6.92 billion, up from the year-ago $5.58 billion, while income attributable to shareholders also rose to $5.69 billion from $4.78 billion. Growth was primarily attributed to increased contributions from trading and optimization, higher realized prices and refining margins, and reduced operating costs, partly offset by lower volumes.
Cash flow from operating activities stood at $6.06 billion, compared with $9.28 billion a year earlier. Excluding working capital, cash flow from operations was $17.24 billion in the first quarter, up from $11.94 billion previously.
For the second quarter, Shell forecasts integrated gas production to be between 580,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and 640,000 boe/d. LNG liquefaction volumes are projected to be within the range of 6.8 million tonnes to 7.4 million tonnes. Meanwhile, upstream production is expected to come in within the 1.6 million boe/d to 1.8 million boe/d range and marketing sales volumes are anticipated to be between 2.5 million barrels per day and 2.7 million b/d.
According to the company, the second-quarter outlook accounts for the impact of the Middle East conflict, including Qatar, and increased schedule of planned maintenance across its assets.
Shell also highlighted its recent acquisition of Canada-based energy company ARC Resources, noting that the purchase is expected to add 370,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, driving a 4% compound annual growth rate in production from 2025 through 2030.