Shell posts almost £10bn quarterly profits as households struggle with bills

theguardian.com:

Shell made record profits of nearly £10bn between April and June and promised to give shareholders payouts worth £6.5bn as the oil supermajor benefited from the surge in energy prices prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The FTSE 100 company made adjusted profits of $11.5bn (£9.5bn) during the second quarter of the year, beating its previous high – set between January and March – by 26%. The profits were more than double the same period in 2021, and higher than expected by analysts.

It has been a period of roaring trade for Shell and other major oil and gas companies, in contrast to struggling households and much of the rest of the economy. Higher energy prices have caused inflation to soar to 40-year highs in the UK and elsewhere, and which threaten to tip economies into recessions across much of the world.

British Gas owner Centrica, also a member of the FTSE 100, on Thursday reinstated its dividend as it reported bumper operating profits of £1.3bn during the first half of 2022 thanks to higher prices for the oil and gas it drills.

Chris O’Shea, Centrica’s chief executive, said it was “the most challenging energy crisis in living memory” even as his company reported its highest adjusted operating profits since 2013.

The scale of the oil companies’ profits prompted the UK government to eventually give in to demands for a windfall tax to redistribute some of the profits, although some senior Conservative ministers are thought to favour removing the tax, amid a leadership campaign that will lead to a new prime minister and cabinet in September.

The windfall tax – known as the energy profits levy – did not come into force until 14 July, meaning the companies’ second-quarter profits and payouts to shareholders were not