LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell’s 2020 profit dropped to its lowest in at least two decades as the pandemic hit energy consumption but the company boosted its dividend again in a sign of confidence.
Shell’s annual adjusted earnings dropped to $4.8 billion, down 71% from a year earlier.
Its fourth-quarter profit was down 87% from a year earlier and below expectations, dragged down by continued weak energy consumption due to the pandemic.
Shell said it expected to raise its first-quarter dividend by 4% from the previous quarter.
(Reporting by Ron Bousso and Shadia Nasralla; Editing by David Clarke)
