LONDON – Royal Dutch Shell says second-quarter earnings fell 72 per cent as low oil prices challenge the profitability of the business.
The Anglo-Dutch company said Thursday that profit adjusted for changes in the value of inventories and excluding one-time items dropped to $1.05 billion from $3.76 billion in the same period of 2015. Net income fell 71 per cent to $1.18 billion.
CEO Ben van Beurden said Thursday that “lower oil prices continue to be a significant challenge across the business.”
Shell has been cutting costs and selling assets to adjust to lower oil prices. It says it is “firmly on track” to deliver $40 billion in savings by the end of the year.
Brent crude dropped to a 12-year low of $27.10 a barrel in January.
