Shell reported its financial earnings for the first quarter of 2023 on Thursday, beating analysts’ expectations. The company made a first-quarter net profit of $9.65 billion, thereby topping a company-provided analyst forecast of $8 billion.
Profit for the period was largely attributed to a high volume of fuel trading, thereby offsetting concerns about waning gas and oil prices. In addition to beating analysts’ estimates, Shell’s profit for the period also exceeded $9.1 billion profit during Q1 of last year.
Overall this proved to be a promising start to the year for Shell, especially considering that it beat last year’s Q1 results—a year when the company posted a record $40 billion annual net profit.
A decline in natural gas prices curbed the profitability of Shell’s giant integrated gas business, with the unit’s profits falling by 18% to $4.9 billion for the quarter. This decline was largely offset by the surge in Shell’s chemicals and refined products unit, with its profits skyrocketing by 139% to $1.8 billion.