The British company reported its highest annual profit in its 115-year history, angering those already struggling to pay their energy bills.
Energy giant Shell posted a record annual profit of nearly $40 billion, after oil and gas prices surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February.
British corporate earnings in 2022 are the highest in the company’s 115-year history, a milestone that angers many Britons as they grapple with a cost-of-living crisis driven largely by rising energy bills. High.
Shell’s annual profit soared to $39.9 billion, more than doubling from a year earlier and beating the previous record of $31 billion in 2008.
Earnings mirror what was reported by the company’s US rivals earlier this week and is sure to intensify pressure on governments to raise more taxes on the sector.
New CEO Wael Sawan said in a statement: “The results demonstrate Shell’s ability to deliver “critical energy to our customers in a volatile world”.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has shaken global energy markets and Shell, like its competitors, has benefited from its vast global footprint and leading commercial activities. .
Governments grappling with soaring energy bills have responded by imposing surprise tariffs on the energy sector, including in the UK.
Shell said it expected costs of about $2.4 billion related to taxes by 2022. In early January. The company announced it would pay taxes in the UK for the first time since 2017.
‘Time to make polluters pay’
But critics say the UK’s Conservative government needs to tighten its surprise tax regime on the earnings of energy companies following the announcement of strong Shell profits.
“As Britons face a 40% increase in energy prices in April, [Prime Minister] Rishi Sunak is letting fossil fuel companies make bountiful profits by refusing to do a proper surprise tax,” said Ed Miliband, shadow and net zero climate secretary of the opposition Labor Party , said in a Twitter post.
As it stands, companies have to pay 35% tax on profits derived from UK oil and gas extraction. However, this does not apply to other activities, such as selling fuel at gas stations or refining oil.
The scheme also gives businesses huge savings if they invest in fossil fuel mining in the UK – for every £1 ($1.23) they spend on this, they get can get 91 pence ($1.12) in tax relief.
Caroline Green, former leader of the UK’s Green Party, said the government was “complicit” with energy companies which she accused of “polluting our planet”.
“For a livable future, we must phase out fossil fuels forever,” she said in a Twitter post.
Greenpeace, a non-governmental organization, said it was time to “make polluters pay”.
“While Shell calculates their record profits, people around the world count losses from record droughts, heat waves and floods – which Shell’s business model is driving,” the group said.
