Royal Dutch Shell profits slump as oil price slide puts energy giant on back foot ahead of mega-merger with BG
Earnings dropped steeply from $7.33billion last year to $3.25billion
Company hopes oil prices will rise to $90 a barrel by 2018
By MARK SHAPLAND FOR THIS IS MONEY: 30 April 2015
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has reported a near 60 per cent slump in first quarter profits after it was hit by the fall in oil and gas prices.
Earnings dropped steeply from $7.33billion ($4.6billion) last year to $3.25billion – though the figure was better than City forecasts of about $2.5billion.
The price of a barrel of Brent crude has fallen by half since last year after peaking at about $115 a barrel in the summer of 2014.
The company, which earlier this month announced a £55billion agreed offer for UK-based BG Group, said it expects oil prices to rise to $90 a barrel by 2018 – justifying the 50 per cent premium it bid to buy its rival.
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