Oil giant Shell today unveiled a 33% fall in fourth quarter profits after one-off charges masked higher oil prices.
The company, which has come under fire from investors after a review showed reserves 20% lower than expected, said underlying profits in the three months to December 31 were $1.86 billion.
Despite the quarterly decline, the Anglo-Dutch company still posted annual profits of $11.7 billion, a rise of 27% on 2002 and one of the highest figures in its history.
The fall in the last three months of 2003 came as no surprise to analysts, as Shell said in December that it expected $1 billion in charges from writing down the value of some assets.
The figure, which was revised slightly to $984m, includes $200m from the closure of its Bakersfield refinery in California.
Higher oil prices partly helped offset the restructuring charges, with Brent crude prices averaging $29.45 a barrel in the fourth quarter, up from $26.80 for the same period a year earlier.
Sir Philip Watts, who is chairman of the committee of managing directors of the Royal Dutch Shell Group of Companies, said the outlook for this year remained uncertain.
The company added that it would look to strengthen its reserve booking controls following the furore over the lower level of proved stocks. The announcement was labelled 'shocking and unprecedented' by one US law firm.
