Fall in energy prices sees Shell’s first quarter profits tumble 57 per cent

Earnings excluding one-off items dropped from $7.33bn (£4.7bn) in the same period last year to $3.25bn (£2.1bn) though the figure was better than City forecasts.

It comes after the Anglo-Dutch oil giant earlier this year said it was pulling nearly £10bn out of planned investment. The group revealed this month that it was buying oil and exploration group BG for £47bn. Chief executive Ben van Beurden said: “Our results reflect the strength of our integrated business activities, against a backdrop of lower oil prices.

“Meanwhile, in what is clearly a difficult industry environment, we continue to take steps to further improve competitive performance by redoubling our efforts to drive a sharper focus on the bottom line in Shell.

“Part of this focus is the sale of non-strategic assets. In parallel we continue to reduce our operating costs and capital spending.”

Shell saw underlying profits from its upstream exploration and production arm fall 88 per cent to $675m (£437m) “impacted by the significant decline in oil and gas prices”.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude has fallen by half since last year. Shell’s fall in upstream earnings was partly cushioned by one-off items including a $600m (£389m) credit after UK tax breaks for North Sea oil industry. There was also a $1.42bn (£920m) gain from disposals as Shell sells off unwanted operations.