Oil giant Shell sets steeper climate targets as third-quarter profit misses expectations

Oil giant Shell sets steeper climate targets as third-quarter profit misses expectations

LONDON — Oil giant on Thursday reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings as New York-based hedge fund Third Point called on the energy major to break up. Shell also announced it had set itself a bigger carbon reduction target. The Anglo-Dutch company posted adjusted earnings of $4.1 billion for the three months through to the end of September. That compared with over the same period a year earlier and for the second quarter of 2021. Analysts had expected third-quarter adjusted earnings to come in at almost $6 billion, according to Refinitiv. Shell issued a note to investors earlier this month warning that Hurricane Ida in the Gulf of Mexico likely had an aggregate adverse impact of roughly $400 million on adjusted earnings. The company on Thursday said lower contributions from trading and optimization when compared to the second quarter had also impacted third-quarter results. This was only partly offset by a global energy supply crunch that has sent oil and gas prices soaring. "This quarter we've generated record cash flow, maintained capital discipline and announced our intention to distribute $7 billion to our shareholders from the sale of our Permian assets," Ben van Beurden, CEO of Shell, said in a statement. Billionaire