Shell profits double to $10.8bn as Iran war lifts oil margins

Shell's profits doubled to $10.8bn, the energy company reported, as the Iran war pushed up margins on oil. The company said it would return $5bn to shareholders, a move that drew criticism from climate campaigners who attacked the scale of the profits.

The result reflects the way conflict in the Middle East has tightened oil markets and widened the margins Shell earns on its output. The Iran war has become a central factor for energy earnings, with the company's bottom line benefiting from the price environment the conflict has created.

The shareholder distribution of $5bn places Shell among the large energy groups returning capital to investors while the Iran war sustains elevated margins. Climate campaigners criticised the profits, arguing that the company is benefiting from a conflict-driven price environment.

For investors, the figures underline how geopolitical risk in the Middle East is flowing directly into energy company earnings. Shell's doubled profit and its $5bn return show a company generating substantial cash in the current market, even as the Iran war that helped produce those margins remains unresolved. The criticism from climate campaigners signals that the scale of the payout is likely to remain a point of public contention.

The results also illustrate the exposure of energy majors to conflict-driven price moves, a factor that cuts both ways for shareholders as the Iran war's trajectory remains uncertain.