<b>Shell profit drops to near 30-month low as share price tumbles</b>

According to British media reports, due to the decline in natural gas prices and the decline in refining profits, the profit of Royal Dutch Shell fell to the lowest point in 30 months in the second quarter, which caused a setback in its steady recovery in recent years, and Its share price fell by 5%. the The results fell far short of analysts' forecasts, leading to the biggest one-day drop in Shell shares in more than three years. The company was the second-worst performer on London's FTSE 100 index in early trade. the Shell joined rivals Total and Norway's Equinor in a weak second-quarter performance, while BP posted a better-than-expected profit. the Shell underperformed expectations across the board, but its flagship liquefied natural gas unit was the worst performer. The company also said the weak global economy and harsh trade environment had affected its chemical business performance. the "The current macro environment is unfavorable in many areas," chief executive Ben van Beurden told reporters. the He added that the Sino-U.S. trade friction had reduced demand for plastic products in the two largest economies, which in turn had a "pretty severe impact" on the petrochemical industry. the A bright spot in the company's performance was increased cash flow. Usually increased cash flow is a sign of operational improvement. the the Unstable Earnings Performance the the Based on current cost of supplies (CCS), excluding identified items, net profit attributable to listed company shareholders fell 25% year-on-year to $3.6 billion in the quarter, the lowest level since late 2016. the That was about 30% lower than the average analyst estimate. the Shell's debt rose to $66.5 billion by mid-year from $64.7 billion at the end of 2018, underscoring the intense pressure on its dividend program (the world's largest at more than $15 billion) and $25 billion share buyback program . the Morgan Stanley analyst Martijn Rats said: "The overall earnings data was lower than most analysts expected, and the earnings of the major business units were also lower than expected. The company's earnings are difficult to predict and the performance is volatile." the Weak LNG business the Results from Shell's LNG unit took the worst hit. Its operations in Trinidad and Tobago and Australia took a combined $479 million in impairment charges, while also being hit by lower sales and lower prices. the Spot prices for LNG in Asia have more than halved since the start of the year, dragged down largely by a surge in new production. the But Chief Financial Officer Jessica Uhl said Shell still expected a stronger market in the longer term as demand picks up. the Oil and gas production rose 4% year-on-year in the second quarter to 3.58 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. the Cash flow, a key performance metric for Shell, rose to $11 billion from $9.5 billion a year earlier. the Free cash flow available to pay dividends and share buybacks has fallen to $6.9 billion. the Shell, which uses free cash flow generated as a key metric for growth, aims to generate free cash flow of $25 billion to $30 billion a year between 2019 and 2021 and $35 billion a year by 2025. the

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