Shell Profits Double to $10.8bn as Iran War Lifts Oil Margins

Shell reported profits of $10.8bn, more than double the prior year, as the Iran war pushed up margins on oil, the company said. The energy major will return $5bn to shareholders, a move that drew criticism from climate campaigners who objected to the scale of the profits.

The results reflect the effect of the conflict on refining and trading margins, which lifted Shell's earnings well above the level of a year earlier. The company did not disclose further breakdown of the figures in the report.

The $5bn shareholder return underscores how the company is choosing to deploy the windfall at a time when energy prices and margins have been volatile. Climate campaigners criticised the high profits and the payout, arguing that the funds should be directed elsewhere.

For investors, the doubling of profits and the size of the distribution highlight the sensitivity of Shell's earnings to geopolitical disruption in oil markets. The Iran war has been the central driver of the margin expansion cited by the company, meaning the durability of these results depends heavily on how the conflict and its effect on oil flows develop.

The combination of sharply higher earnings and a multi-billion-dollar return to shareholders is likely to keep Shell in focus for both energy investors and campaigners pressing the company over its climate stance.