Shell to buy back shares as half-year profits jump

Oilmajorroyaldutchshell has pushed the button on a $25 billion (£18.9bn) share buyback programme and revealed a jump in profits.

The stock repurchase has been in the pipeline since Shell bought BG Group in a mammoth $54bn deal in 2016.

The news came as second-quarter earnings rose 30 per cent to $4.7bn, slightly below market predictions.

Overall in the first half of 2018, underlying earnings on a current cost of supply basis leapt 37 per cent to $10.1bn, thanks in part to surging oil prices.

Chief executive Ben van Beurden said: “We are taking another important step towards the delivery of our world-class investment case, with the launch of a $25bn share buyback programme.”

David Barclay, head of office at Brewin Dolphin Aberdeen, said: “The share buyback scheme is some good news for investors, which will turn stock issued during the oil price downturn into cash.

“However, the market was clearly lukewarm on news of Shell’s progress.”