According to the Zhitong Finance APP, oil giant Shell (SHEL.US) announced its fourth quarter Earnings Reports and fiscal performance for 2024 before the market opened on Thursday, Eastern Time. The data shows that the adjusted Net income for the fourth quarter was $3.66 billion, down from $7.31 billion in the same period last year, and also below the Analyst expectation of $4.09 billion from a Vara Research survey. This was primarily due to a decline in refining margins, poor performance in liquefied natural gas (LNG) Trade, and weak oil prices. The company also stated that it would repurchase $3.5 billion worth of Stocks and announced a 4% increase in dividends.

Shell's 2024 full-year adjusted profit was $23.72 billion, down from $28.25 billion in the previous year. According to data compiled by LSEG, Analysts consistently expected the full-year Net income for 2024 to reach $24.71 billion.

It is worth mentioning that Shell announced a 4% increase in dividend per share and launched another $3.5 billion Share Buyback program, which is expected to be completed within the next three months.

As of the time of writing, this energy giant's stock rose slightly by 0.4% in after-hours trading in the US, priced at $64.04. Since the beginning of the year, the stock price has increased by about 3.4%.

Since taking office two years ago, CEO Wael Sawan has focused on cost-cutting. In a statement on Thursday, Wael Sawan said, "Although the profit level for this quarter is low, Cash delivery remains stable, and in a lower price environment, we generated $40 billion in free cash flow for the year, exceeding 2023."

He added, "Since 2022, we have consistently focused on streamlining processes, which has helped us achieve over $3 billion in structural cost reductions ahead of our targets, and we have also made significant progress on all other financial goals."

With energy prices stabilizing and oil demand weakening, profits of the world's top Oil & Gas companies are expected to decline in 2024. Previously, in 2022, these companies reached record levels when the Russia-Ukraine conflict caused international benchmark Brent Crude Oil prices to surge to nearly $140 per barrel.

According to the US Energy Information Administration data, the average price of Brent Crude Oil futures in 2024 is $80 per barrel, which is about $2 lower than last year.

In a trading update on January 8, Shell lowered its liquefied natural gas (LNG) production guidance for the last three months of 2024, warning that its Chemicals and Oil & Gas products division's quarterly trading performance is expected to 'decline significantly.'

As Shell announces its full-year performance, the company is entering the final stage of its 'first sprint' Global Strategy, launched in 2023, aimed at improving profitability and reducing the valuation gap with its US peers.

As part of this transformation, Shell CEO Wael Sawan is committed to repositioning the company towards its most profitable business areas (Oil, Gas, and Biofuels), while gradually reducing investment in renewable energy generation, cutting spending in offshore Wind Energy and Hydrogen, and exiting the Electrical Utilities markets in Europe and China.

Like other Oil & Gas giants, Shell has de-emphasized climate goals and green investments in recent years. However, the company stated that it remains committed to becoming a net-zero emissions Energy business by 2050.

US oil giant Exxon Mobil (XOM.US) and Chevron (CVX.UX) will announce their Earnings Reports on Friday, while European peers TotalEnergies (TOT.US) and BP PLC (BP.US) will release their Earnings Reports on February 5 and February 11, respectively.