Royal Dutch Shell posted a net loss and a fall in revenue in the first quarter of 2020, according to the financial results statement released by the Anglo-Dutch company on Thursday.
The firm had a $24 million loss attributable to shareholders for the first three months of the year, marking a major net income decline of $6 billion compared to the same period last year.
The company posted revenue of $60 billion for the first quarter of 2020, down 28.3% from the $83.7 billion recorded during the January-March period of 2019.
For the steep decline in earnings and revenue, Shell CEO Ben van Beurden in the statement pointed to "extremely challenging conditions" and "continued deterioration in the macroeconomic outlook and the significant mid and long-term uncertainty."
"In March, we took decisive actions to reduce our spending, increase our liquidity and position our business to manage the deteriorating macroeconomic and commodity price outlook," he said.
Cash capital expenditure for Shell stood at $4.97 billion for the first quarter of 2020, down 11.2% from the $5.6 billion recorded in the first three months of 2019, according to the statement.
The company also announced that it would take initiatives to reduce operating expenses by $3-4 billion per annum over the next 12 months, relative to 2019 levels.
Due to coronavirus-related weak global oil demand and plummeting oil prices, most oil companies are expected to post losses in the first half of 2020, while they prepare for cost reductions.
(Anadolu Agency, April 30, 2020)
