First quarter 2014 results CFO video comment
Hello, I am Simon Henry, the Chief Financial Officer of Royal Dutch Shell.
Today we announced our quarterly financial results.
Let me give you the highlights.
Our first quarter 2014 earnings were $7.3 billion on a clean Current Cost of Supplies basis.
The earnings per share decreased by 2% from first quarter 2013.
Our Cash flow generated was around $14 billion.
On a Q1 to Q1 basis we saw a decline in Downstream earnings and broadly flat Upstream results. These are more robust results from Shell.
However, as we saw in 2013, there is high volatility in the macro-environment,
and high volatility in our quarterly results.
Our strategy and financial framework have not changed.
We aim to grow our dividends sustainably through the business cycle, driven by growing cash generation. All at competitive returns.
The priorities we set out at the start of this year have not changed. There is no complacency.
We still have much to do to improve our current results.
This means focusing on better financial performance, on enhanced capital efficiency which includes an increase in the asset sales programme, and continuing strong project delivery.
We have taken an $2.6 billion impairment today, in Downstream, that reflects Shell’s
updated views on the outlook for refining margins, where there are substantial pressures on the industry.This impairment represents about 14% of the fixed assets in our total refining business.
Upstream underlying earnings were $5.7 billion, essentially unchanged from year ago levels.
Our Upstream results included a record result from the Integrated Gas business
which showed an 30% increase year-over-year, and as well we saw strong results from gas trading.
Downstream earnings were $1.6 billion, 15% lower than year-ago levels, as industry margins declined.
We have added new opportunities during this quarter, we started up new production,
we announced further asset sales.
This is all part of positioning the company for profitable growth for the future.
We completed the Repsol LNG acquisition, made new gas discoveries in Asia Pacific,
and we added new exploration acreage world-wide.
We entered FEED on a series of new projects, that includes the LNG opportunity in Canada,
the deep water new hub development at Appomatox in the Gulf of Mexico and the Peterhead CCS project in the United Kingdom.
We announced divestments of businesses in Australia, Italy and the USA.
Dividends are Shell’s main route for returning cash to shareholders, and we are announcing
a 4% increase in dividend for Q1 today.
We have distributed more than $11 billion of dividends in the last 12 months, and completed some $6 billion of share buy backs.
All of this underlines our commitment to shareholder returns.
Thank you.