Oil and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday it had swung to a considerable loss in 2020.
Shell posted a full-year loss of $21.53m for the twelve months ended 31 December a marked turnaround when compared to the $16.43m income recorded in the prior year as both the firm’s integrated gas and upstream units reported losses of $6.27bn and $10.78bn, respectively.
The FTSE-100 listed firm still managed to carve out an adjusted earnings of $4.84bn, however, this figure was significantly lower than the $16.46bn reported twelve months ago. Adjusted earning per share slumped from 2.04p to 0.62p.
Capital expenditure was cut from $22.97bn to $16.58bn, while operating expenses were cut to $34.78bn from $37.89bn and net debt dropped from $79.09bn to $75.38bn amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Elsewhere, Shell added that former BHP chief executive Andrew Mackenzie would take over as chairman following the group’s May annual general meeting.
Mackenzie will succeed Chad Holliday, who will step down on 18 May after having served as chairman for six years and as a board director for more than a decade.
Shell stated the selection of Mackenzie was the result of a “thorough and robust process”, which included engagement with some of its larger investors as the firm sought input on the skills, attributes and sector knowledge that they considered important for the role.
Chief executive Ben van Beurden said: “”We are emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic with a clear and distinct strategy that I believe will enable us to seize the opportunities presented by the energy transition. I cannot think of anyone better than Andrew to take this role.”
As of 0830 GMT, Shell shares were up 1.02% at 1,580.80p.
