SHELL yesterday reported an "excellent" first quarter with a strong financial performance across its businesses.
The oil giant, which reported the biggest annual profits in UK corporate history in February, said its income had risen by 42% to $6.7bn (£3.5bn) in the period.
Production for the quarter was at the higher end of expectations and exploration drilling results had been encouraging.
The company, which operates a giant refinery at Ellesmere Port, said its plans to merge its Dutch and UK parent companies into one after nearly 100 years of separate operations remained on schedule.
Chief executive Jeroen van der Veer said: "The first quarter was an excellent start of the year for Shell."
The income figure meant Shell made profits of about £1.6m an hour during the quarter.
On Tuesday, BP said it made record first quarter profits equating to £1.3m an hour.
Shell said earnings in its upstream division, which covers exploration and production before refining, increased despite lower production due to soaring oil prices.
The group produced 3.8bn barrels of oil equivalent per day in the quarter, compared with 4.1bn at the same time a year ago.
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