据路透社伦敦报道，周四，荷兰皇家壳牌称，公司第一季度利润小幅下降至54亿美元，但在强劲的交易和液化天然气收益增长的帮助下，仍轻易地超过预期。
壳牌的业绩超过了竞争对手埃克森美孚、雪佛龙和英国石油，由于炼油利润下降、原油和天然气价格走软，埃克森美孚、雪佛龙和英国石油在今年前三个月的利润都大幅下降。
公司首席执行官本?范伯登在一份声明中表示：“壳牌在2019年有一个强劲的开局。我们整合的价值链使我们的下游业务能够在市场条件严峻的情况下取得强劲的业绩。”
这家英荷公司表示，现金增值作为衡量其过去增长的一项关键指标，由于一次性支出，该公司的现金增值下降了9%，至86亿美元。
壳牌的自由现金流（可用于支付股息和股票回购的现金）从上一季度的167亿美元和一年前同期的52亿美元降至本季度的40亿美元，该公司的目标是在2019年至2021年期间，每年产生250亿至300亿美元的自由现金流。
根据目前的供应成本（CCS）计算，不包括已确认的项目，第一季度归属于股东的净收入较上年同期下降2%，至54.3亿美元，根据公司提供的一份分析师调查，这一数字超过了预期的45.4亿美元。
德国布伦伯格银行(Berenberg)分析师Henry Tarr说：“总体而言，这是一系列强劲的业绩，得到了该季度强劲现金流的支持。”
壳牌公司表示，利润下降是因为化学品和炼油利润下降、油价下降和税收抵免降低，与2018年第一季度相比，交易强劲、LNG以及天然气价格上涨的贡献更大，部分抵消了上述影响。
壳牌综合天然气业务增长了65%，现金增值达到42亿美元，液化天然气交易帮助抵消了6%的销售量下降。
由于原油价格和炼油利润的下降，英国石油的利润也出现了下降，但其交易也起到了缓冲作用，使得该公司可以利用不同地区的价格差异获利。
壳牌表示，该季度的石油和天然气产量从2018年第四季度的378.8万桶石油当量降至375.2万桶石油当量。
强劲的业绩是在去年利润大幅上升至214亿美元（自2014年以来的最高水平）的基础上取得的。
壳牌公司作为全球最大的股息支付者（每年160亿美元）在2016年收购BG集团后，该公司继续实施一项为期三年的250亿美元股票回购计划，截至4月29日，该公司称已回购67.5亿美元。
其股息不变，为每股0.47美元。
詹晓晶摘自路透社
原文如下：
Shell beats profit expectations on strong trading, LNG
LonDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell reported on Thursday a small drop in first quarter profit to $5.4 billion, but still easily beat forecasts, helped by stronger trading and liquefied natural gas earnings.
Shell’s results outshone those of rivals Exxon Mobil, Chevron and BP which all saw sharp declines in profits in the first three months of the year as a result of lower refining margins and weaker crude and gas prices.
“Shell has made a strong start to 2019,” Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said in a statement.
“Our integrated value chain enabled our Downstream business to deliver robust results despite challenging market conditions.”
Cash generation, which the Anglo-Dutch company has flagged as a key measure of its growth in the past, sagged 9 percent to $8.6 billion as a result of one-off charges.
Free cash flow — cash available to pay for dividends and share buybacks — dropped to $4 billion from $16.7 billion in the previous quarter and $5.2 billion a year earlier.
Shell has targeted free cash flow generation of $25 billion-$30 billion a year between 2019 and 2021.
Net income attributable to shareholders, based on current cost of supplies (CCS) and excluding identified items, fell 2 percent to $5.43 billion in the first quarter from a year earlier.
That topped a profit forecast of $4.54 billion, according to a company-provided survey of analysts.
“Overall this was a strong set of results, backed up by solid cash flow delivery in the quarter,” Berenberg analyst Henry Tarr said.
The decline was a result of lower chemicals and refining margins, lower oil prices and lower tax credits, Shell said. Those were partly offset by stronger contributions from trading as well as increased LNG and gas prices compared with the first quarter of 2018.
Shell’s Integrated Gas business saw a 65 percent rise in cash generation to $4.2 billion as LNG trading helped offset a 6 percent decline in sales volumes.
BP also saw a drop in profits from lower crude prices and refining but was cushioned by trading, which allows a company to make profit by taking advantage of price differences in different regions.
Shell said its oil and gas production in the quarter declined to 3.752 million barrels of oil equivalent from 3.788 million boed in the fourth quarter of 2018.
The strong results build on a sharp rise in profits last year to $21.4 billion, their highest since 2014.
Shell, the world’s biggest dividend payer at $16 billion a year, continued a three-year $25 billion share buyback program promised following the acquisition of BG Group in 2016. By April 29 it said it had repurchased $6.75 billion.
Its dividend was unchanged at $0.47 per share.
