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Investing.com -- Shell PLC (LON:SHEL) (NYSE:SHEL) reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $4.26 billion, topping the company-provided analyst consensus of $3.74 billion, but falling from $6.3 billion in the same period last year.
The energy giant also confirmed it will keep its share repurchase program steady at $3.5 billion for the coming three months, marking the 15th straight quarter of buybacks at or above the $3 billion level.
Net income attributable to shareholders for Q2 came in at $3.6 billion, compared to $3.5 billion a year ago.
Operating cash flow reached $11.9 billion, supported by strong EBITDA, though tax payments of $3.4 billion partially offset this.
Free cash flow stood at $6.5 billion.
Capital expenditure totaled $5.8 billion, while shareholder distributions amounted to $5.7 billion—comprised of $3.5 billion in share buybacks and $2.1 billion in dividends.
Total (EPA:TTEF) oil and gas production was 2.68 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, slightly below last quarter and down 5% year-on-year. Return on average capital employed (ROACE) was 9.4%, down from 12.8% a year ago.
Segment performance was mixed. Integrated Gas adjusted earnings dropped 30% year-on-year to $1.74 billion, hurt by lower trading and optimisation results.
Upstream earnings fell 26% to $1.73 billion, mainly due to weaker prices.
Marketing posted a 33% sequential gain in adjusted earnings, reaching $1.2 billion, helped by stronger margins.
However, Chemicals and Products saw adjusted earnings slump 74% to $118 million.
Renewables and Energy Solutions remained loss-making, with adjusted earnings at negative $9 million, though this was an improvement from a $187 million loss a year ago.
Shell’s net debt rose to $43.2 billion from $41.5 billion in Q1, with gearing increasing to 19.1%.