Shell Q4 profit drops 44% as crude tumbles

Royal Dutch Shell Plc said fourthquarter profit fell 44 percent after the rout in crude prices deepened. Profit adjusted for one- time items and inventory changes shrank to $ 1.8 billion, near the midpoint of the preliminary $ 1.6 billion- to-$ 1.9 billion range it gave last month. That matches the $ 1.8 billion average estimate of analysts, and profit of $ 3.3 billion a year earlier.