Daily Times

shellBritish energy giant Shell on Thursday said its net profit jumped 26pc in the first quarter as soaring oil prices offset a sizeable charge linked to its Russia exit. Profit after tax leapt to $7.1b (6.7b euros) compared with a year earlier, Shell said in a statement. While the group took a $3.9b charge on its exit from Russia after Moscow invaded Ukraine, it saw lower costs elsewhere. Underlying earnings spiked almost three-fold to a quarterly record of $9.1b, sparking fresh calls in Britain for a windfall tax on energy majors. UK consumers are enduring a cost-of-living crisis caused by the highest rate of inflation in decades, also as economies reopen from pandemic lockdowns. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who faces a key mid-term test in local elections Thursday, has dismissed calls for a windfall levy on oil giants, arguing it would slow their efforts to invest in cleaner energy. Shell on Thursday added that its revenue rallied 51pc to $84.2b in the first three months of the year.