Shell Plc has announced a substantial return to shareholders, revealing that it distributed $23 billion in dividends in 2023, as stated by the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Wael Sawan, in a release on Thursday.
Sawan emphasized that Shell is adopting a four percent increase in dividends, aligning with the firm’s ‘progressive’ dividend policy. He stated, “In 2023, Shell returned $23 billion to shareholders. In line with our progressive dividend policy, Shell is now increasing its dividend by 4 percent. We are also commencing a $3.5 billion buyback program for the next three months.”
In the third quarter of 2023, Shell reported adjusted earnings of $7.3 billion, reflecting robust operational performance and strong LNG trading and optimization results. This represented a 17 percent increase compared to the $6.2 billion Adjusted Earnings in Q3 2022.
The cash flow from operations for the last quarter amounted to $12.6 billion, marking a 2 percent rise from the Q3 figures. Sawan highlighted that the full-year shareholder distributions of $23 billion in 2023 exceeded 40 percent of the Cash Flow from Operations (CFFO), which stood at $54.2 billion.
However, the total CFFO for 2023 was 21 percent lower than the 2022 figure, which amounted to $68.4 billion.
According to Shell’s fourth-quarter 2023 and full-year unaudited results, the income attributable to Shell PLC shareholders in 2023 reflected lower realized oil and gas prices, reduced volumes, and lower refining margins. These factors were partly offset by higher LNG trading and optimization margins, along with higher Marketing margins.
Shell reported $1 billion of pre-tax structural cost reductions delivered in 2023 compared to the full year 2022, mainly driven by divestments. The full-year 2023 income attributable to Shell PLC shareholders included net impairment charges and reversals of $6.2 billion, as well as unfavorable movements of $1.3 billion due to the fair value accounting of commodity derivatives.
These charges and unfavorable movements were included in identified items amounting to a net loss of $8.2 billion. This compared with identified items in the full year 2022, which amounted to a net gain of $1.2 billion.
Regarding depreciation, depletion, and amortization, Shell stated that “Impairments recognized in Upstream principally relate to projects in North America, Nigeria, and the UK triggered by factors including revised reserves estimates and portfolio choices.”
