原文标题：
Shell boosts dividend and launches buybacks as profit soars.
皇家壳牌在营收大增的情况下调升股息与启动股票回购。
原文连结：
https://reurl.cc/yEbyY6
发布时间：
July 29, 2021 15:19
原文内容：
Profits surge to $5.5 bln, highest since late 2018
Shell boosts dividend by 38%
Launches $2 billion share buyback
LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) boosted its dividend an
d launched a $2 billion share buyback programme on Thursday after a sharp rise
in oil and gas prices drove second quarter profits to their highest in more t
han two years.
As profits across the industry recovered from last year's pandemic-led collaps
e in energy demand, peers TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) and Norway's Equinor (EQNR.O
L) also announced share buybacks. read more
Shell's London-traded shares rose by over 3% by 0711 GMT, outperforming peers
BP (BP.L) and TotalEnergies.
The Anglo-Dutch company saw a surge in cash generation, boosted by higher comm
odity prices and a recovery in global energy demand, which also helped it to c
ut debt.
"We are stepping up our shareholder distributions today, increasing dividends
and starting share buybacks, while we continue to invest for the future of ene
rgy," Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said in a statement.
Adjusted earnings rose to $5.53 billion, the highest since the fourth quarter
of 2018, exceeding an average analyst forecast provided by the company for a $
5.07 billion profit.
That compares with earnings of $638 million a year earlier.
Apart from higher fuel prices, stronger profits from Shell's marketing divisio
n, the world's biggest network of petrol stations, also boosted the results.
Still, fuel sales in the quarter were well below pre-pandemic levels at 4.5 mi
llion barrels per day (bpd) in the second quarter, up 9% from 4.16 million bpd
in the first quarter.
DIVIDEND INCREASE
Shell increased its dividend for a second consecutive quarter by 38% to 24 cen
ts, a year after it cut its dividend for the first time since the 1940s in res
ponse to the collapse in energy demand caused by the pandemic. read more
The company also launched a $2 billion share buyback programme that it aims to
complete by the end of the year.
Shell said earlier this month that it will boost its distribution to sharehold
ers via share buybacks or dividends to 20% to 30% of cash flow from operations
beginning in the second quarter, earlier than expected. read more
"We knew Shell was set to raise distributions today but the scale of the incre
ase is significantly above expectations," Redburn analyst Stuart Joyner said i
n a note.
Free cashflow, a metric of the company's performance following deep cost cuts
last year, rose in the quarter to $9.7 billion, its highest since the first qu
arter of 2020.
The strong results provide relief for Shell, which faces mounting pressure ove
r its strategy to tackle climate change after a Dutch court in May ordered the
company to significantly accelerate its greenhouse gas emissions reduction ta
rgets. read more
Shell said it will appeal the court ruling, but at the same time it aims to ac
celerate its plan to cut emissions following a strategy overhaul announced las
t year to build a large low-carbon business.
心得/评论：
大意为，壳牌2021Q2利润飙升至 55 亿美元，为 2018 年底以来的最高水平且壳牌将股息
提高了 38%并启动20亿美元的股票回购。
欧洲B股已经涨4%了，股息之后要回来了吗？