Royal Dutch Shell plc first quarter 2015 interim dividend

Beginning with the first quarter interim dividend for 2015, RDS provides eligible shareholders with a choice to receive dividends in cash or in shares via a Scrip Dividend Programme (“the Programme”).

Details relating to the first quarter 2015 interim dividend

It is expected that cash dividends on the B Shares will be paid via the Dividend Access Mechanism from UK-sourced income of the Shell Group.
 

Cash dividends on A Shares will be paid, by default, in euro, although holders of A Shares will be able to elect to receive dividends in pounds sterling.

Cash dividends on B Shares will be paid, by default, in pounds sterling, although holders of B Shares will be able to elect to receive dividends in euro.

The pounds sterling and euro equivalent dividend payments will be announced on June 8, 2015.
 

Cash dividends on American Depository Shares (“ADSs”) will be paid, by default, in US dollars.

ADS stands for an American Depositary Share. ADR stands for an American Depositary Receipt. An ADR is a certificate that evidences ADSs. ADSs are listed on the NYSE under the symbols RDS.A and RDS.B. Each ADS represents two ordinary shares, two A Shares in the case of  RDS.A or two B Shares in the case of RDS.B. In many cases the terms ADR and ADS are used interchangeably.

Scrip Dividend Programme

Beginning with its first quarter interim dividend for 2015, RDS provides shareholders with a choice to receive dividends in cash or in shares via a Scrip Dividend Programme (“the Programme”).

Under the Programme shareholders can increase their shareholding in RDS by choosing to receive new shares instead of cash dividends, if approved by the Board.   Only new A Shares will be issued under the Programme, including to shareholders who currently hold B Shares.

Joining the Programme may offer a tax advantage in some countries compared with receiving cash dividends. In particular, dividends paid out as shares will not be subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax (currently 15 per cent) and will not generally be taxed on receipt by a UK shareholder or a Dutch corporate shareholder.

Shareholders who elect to join the Programme will increase the number of shares held in RDS without having to buy existing shares in the market, thereby avoiding associated dealing costs.

Shareholders who do not join the Programme will continue to receive in cash any dividends approved by the Board.

For further information on the Programme, including how to join if you are eligible, please refer to the appropriate publication available on www.shell.com/scrip.

Dividend timetable for the first quarter 2015 interim dividend
 

Note 1 - The London Stock Exchange and Euronext Amsterdam, with effect from October 6, 2014, reduced the standard settlement cycle in accordance with the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on improving securities settlement in the European Union (EU) and on Central Securities Depositories (CSDs) and amending Directive 98/26/EC (the CSD Regulation). The CSD Regulation aims to harmonise EU securities settlement cycles towards a T + 2 cycle. As a result, the ex-dividend dates for A and B shares traded on these markets are one trading day later than A ADSs and B ADSs traded in the USA. Record dates are not affected.

Note 2 - A different scrip election date may apply to registered and non registered ADS holders.

Registered ADS holders can contact The Bank of New York Mellon for the election deadline that applies. Non registered ADS holders can contact their broker, financial intermediary, bank or financial institution for the election deadline that applies.

Both a different scrip and currency election date may apply to shareholders holding shares in a securities account with a bank or financial institution ultimately holding through Euroclear Nederland. Such shareholders can obtain the applicable deadlines from their broker, financial intermediary, bank or financial institution where they hold their securities account.

Dividend reinvestment plans withdrawn

Following the introduction of the Scrip Dividend Programme, the Dividend Reinvestment Plans previously provided by Equiniti and ABN AMRO Bank N.V. have been withdrawn; the dividend reinvestment feature of the plan provided by The Bank of New York Mellon has likewise been withdrawn.

Shareholders who participated in one of these Dividend Reinvestment Plans will in most cases not automatically be enrolled in the Scrip Dividend Programme and will in most cases need to elect to join.

For full information on the Scrip Dividend Programme, please refer to the appropriate publication available on www.shell.com/scrip.

Shareholders who do not join the Scrip Dividend Programme will continue to receive in cash any dividends declared by RDS.

Taxation cash dividends

Cash dividends on A Shares will be subject to the deduction of Netherlands dividend withholding tax at the rate of 15%, which may be reduced in certain circumstances. Provided certain conditions are met, shareholders in receipt of A Share cash dividends may also be entitled to a non-payable dividend tax credit in the United Kingdom.

Shareholders resident in the United Kingdom, receiving cash dividends on B Shares through the Dividend Access Mechanism, are entitled to a tax credit. This tax credit is not repayable. Non-residents may also be entitled to a tax credit, if double tax arrangements between the United Kingdom and their country of residence so provide, or if they are eligible for relief given to non-residents with certain special connections with the United Kingdom or to nationals of states in the European Economic Area.

The amount of tax credit is 10/90ths of the cash dividend, the tax credit referable to the first quarter 2015 interim dividend of US$0.47 is US$0.05 per ordinary share and the dividend and tax credit together amount to US$0.52. The pounds sterling and euro equivalents will be announced on June 8, 2015.

Royal Dutch Shell plc
The Hague, April 30, 2015

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Cautionary Note

The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate entities. In this release “Shell”, “Shell group” and “Royal Dutch Shell” are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words “we”, “us” and “our” are also used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them.

These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies. ‘‘Subsidiaries’’, “Shell subsidiaries” and “Shell companies” as used in this release refer to companies over which Royal Dutch Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. Companies over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to as “joint ventures” and companies over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as “associates”. In this release, joint ventures and associates may also be referred to as “equity-accounted investments”. The term “Shell interest” is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party interest.

This release contains forward-looking statements concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements.

Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing management’s expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ‘‘anticipate’’, ‘‘believe’’, ‘‘could’’, ‘‘estimate’’, ‘‘expect’’, ‘‘goals’’, ‘‘intend’’, ‘‘may’’, ‘‘objectives’’, ‘‘outlook’’, ‘‘plan’’, ‘‘probably’’, ‘‘project’’, ‘‘risks’’, “schedule”, ‘‘seek’’, ‘‘should’’, ‘‘target’’, ‘‘will’’ and similar terms and phrases.

There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell’s products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in trading conditions.

All forward-looking statements contained in this release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell’s 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2014 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov).

These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward looking statements contained in this release and should be considered by the reader.  Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this release, April 30, 2015. Neither Royal Dutch Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this release.

We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this release that United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC.  U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov.