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Royal Dutch Shell has reported a 'stronger balance sheet' in its Q4 report, reducing net debt by $4 billion, and exceeding cash preservation targets, but revealed a difficult year for the firm.
Shell reported a loss of $3.956 billion for the quarter, bringing the total loss for the year to $21.534 billion
The group reported net debt was reduced by $4 billion to $75 billion during 2020, driven by a decrease in capital expenditure, down to $18 billion in 2020 from $24 billion in 2019.
Royal Dutch Shell chief executive officer, Ben van Beurden, said: 'We have taken tough but decisive actions and demonstrated highly resilient operational delivery while caring for our people, customers and communities. We are coming out of 2020 with a stronger balance sheet, ready to accelerate our strategy and make the future of energy.'
In a statement the group said that LNG prices for the quarter were significantly below Q4 2019, while oil products showed weakness in refining margins, despite some recovery from Q3 2020, due to lower intake and utilisation owing to lower demand and Convent refinery shutdown.
The company also announced that it expects the first quarter 2021 interim dividend will be set at US$ 0.1735 per share, an increase of around 4% over the US dollar dividend for the fourth quarter 2020. The first quarter 2021 interim dividend is scheduled to be announced on April 29, 2021.