Shell maintains pace of buybacks as profit beats estimates

Shell Plc posted a record first-quarter profit and maintained the pace of share buybacks as a strong trading performance and higher liquefied natural gas volumes offset lower energy prices.

The company will repurchase a further $4 billion of shares, the same amount as in the prior period. That contrasts with UK peer BP Plc, which saw its share price drop more than 8% earlier this week when it announced a smaller buyback of $1.75 billion. 

It’s a difference that could help new Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan reinforce his message that Shell can stand above the competition by reliably delivering generous cash returns to investors.

“Following BP’s cut to the buyback, we received many questions on what Shell would do this quarter given a weaker macro environment,” RBC analyst Biraj Borkhataria said in a note. “What was the fuss about?”