Royal Dutch Shell plc second quarter 2014 results presentations

Ben van Beurden, CEO of Shell, comments on the Q2 2014 results

 

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Hello, I am Ben van Beurden, the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell.

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Today I’d like to give you an overview of our second quarter 2014 results

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and update you on the progress on our strategic priorities.

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Firstly on the results.

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Second quarter earnings, excluding identified items, were $6.1 billion

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a 33% increase in CCS earnings per share versus the same quarter last year.

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Our financial performance for the second quarter of 2014 was more robust than year-ago levels,

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but there’s no complacency here, we want to see a more competitive performance from Shell.

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We are making progress with the priorities that I set out at the start of 2014

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to balance growth and returns

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by focusing on better financial performance, enhanced capital efficiency,

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and continued strong project delivery.

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In North America resources plays where we have taken some impairments today

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we see growth potential in Western Canada gas, linked to LNG

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and in liquids rich shales in Western Canada and the Permian.

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Shell’s Lower 48 dry gas positions, where we have established production

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and further exploration potential, remain under review

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and there could potentially be further asset sales there.

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We are taking firm actions to improve Shell’s capital efficiency

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by selling selected assets and making tougher project decisions.

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We have completed some $8 billion of asset sales so far in 2014

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and this is good progress against plans for $15 billion of asset sales in 2014 and 2015 combined.

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On the portfolio growth side

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we have continued to ramp up production at Mars B in the Gulf of Mexico

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which averaged nearly 40,000 boe per day in the quarter

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and our exploration programme is delivering, with new finds in the Gulf of Mexico and Malaysia.

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We aim to grow cash flow through the cycle and deliver competitive shareholder returns.

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Dividends are Shell’s main route for returning cash to shareholders

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and we have distributed more than $11 billion of dividends in the last 12 months

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and we are expecting that shareholder distributions buybacks

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and dividends should exceed $30 billion over 2014 and 2015 combined.

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All of this underlines the company’s recent improved performance and future potential.

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Thank you.