Shell Signals Earnings Dip In Trading In Q2, But Refining Margin To Improve

Shell’s (SHEL) stock slipped 3.4% in premarket trading on Monday after the oil and gas firm flagged weaker trading results for the second quarter.

The company said its trading and optimization results are expected to be significantly lower than those of the first quarter. This would likely deal a blow to the company’s earnings, already expected to take a hit from lower oil prices. Shell CEO Wael Sawan had said in March that the company’s traders had not reported a loss in a single quarter over the past decade.

The trading results took some shine off the improvement in refining margins, which is expected to rise to $8.9 per barrel during the second quarter, compared with $6.2 per barrel in the same quarter last year. The company is still expected to post a loss in its chemicals and products segment.

Shell forecast production between 900,000 and 940,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) in its integrated gas unit, compared with its previous outlook of 890,000 to 950,000 boed. Shell, the world’s top LNG producer, expects production of the superchilled commodity between 6.4 million and 6.8 million metric tons in the second quarter, compared with a previous range of 6.3 million to 6.9 million tons.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about Shell was in the ‘bearish’ (37/100) territory, while retail chatter was ‘normal.’

Shell’s upstream production is expected to be down at least 100,000 boed, from the 1.86 million boed it reported in the first quarter due to scheduled maintenance and the completion of asset sales in Nigeria.

Shell stock has gained 16.4% this year. The company is scheduled to report its results on July 31.

Also See: Voyager Technologies Stock In Focus After Jefferies Initiates Coverage With ‘Buy’

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com