據ICIS-MRC網站7月30日莫斯科報道，根據英國《金融時報》(the Financial Times)報道，荷蘭皇家殼牌(Royal Dutch Shell)已將股息提高近40%，并啟動了一項20億美元的股票回購計劃。這家能源巨頭正利用能源價格走高的機會，試圖重新吸引投資者。

　　周四該集團公布，在油價回升至每桶70美元以上的推動下，第二季度收益大幅增長。這比分析師預期的更為激進，顯示出該能源巨頭重振萎靡不振的股價的壓力。

　　法國能源巨頭道達爾(TotalEnergis)周四也公布了強勁的業績，實現了五年來最高的半年收益，并將利用部分現金流進行股票回購。投資者仍對石油行業保持警惕，該行業自 2015 年以來受到兩次價格暴跌的沉重打擊，同時面臨石油需求可能見頂的長期挑戰，以及政府應對氣候變化的行動日益增多。

　　殼牌股價周四上漲3.5%，但較兩年前油價小幅下跌時仍下跌逾40%。該公司曾在4月表示，股息可能在2021年剩余時間保持不變，此前該公司在上一份財報中小幅上調了股息。

　　該公司首席執行官范伯登( Benvan Beurden )表示，有信心提高股息。我們覺得我們的股息需要重新設定，因為我們的派息和自由現金流之間的差距實在太大了。我們希望通過將其永久化，向市場表明我們對前景和現金流的信心。

　　據分析師表示，對現金回籠的關注是為了表明，在能源價格強勁的情況下，能源巨頭仍擁有巨大的自由現金流，有能力提高對渴望收益的投資者的回報。加拿大皇家銀行資本市場(RBC Capital Markets)的Biraj Borkhataria表示，殼牌增加分銷是非常積極的。

　　殼牌的股息將從第二季度起每股上升至24美分，盡管仍遠低于疫情前的水平。去年，該公司將股息下調了三分之二，至16美分，這是自二戰以來的首次下調，因為新冠疫情引發的封鎖打擊了能源需求，并將油價推至每桶20美元以下。該公司表示，將股息每年提高4%的政策“保持不變”。

　　投資者對回購的預期更為普遍，他們希望看到能源公司返還現金，而不是增加投資。然而，普遍預測，回購將接近15億美元。殼牌表示，今年的資本支出將保持在220億美元以下。歐洲石油和天然氣巨頭正試圖平衡投資者對更高回報的需求和調整商業模式以適應氣候目標的壓力。

　　范伯登表示，他越來越相信油價在中期內仍將保持強勁，部分原因是該行業投資不足。但他表示，任何計劃中的資本支出增加，都將側重于公司推動氫等清潔燃料的戰略。

　　第二季度，殼牌公布調整后凈利潤為55億美元，略高于分析師預期的50億美元，高于第一季度的32億美元。第二季度營運現金流(不包括營運資本流動)達到142億美元，超過分析師預期的121億美元。道達爾經調整后的凈收入環比增長15%，至35億美元。

　　郝芬 譯自 ICIS-MRC

　　原文如下:

　　Shell raises dividend by almost 40% amid soaring oil prices

　　Royal Dutch Shell has raised its dividend almost 40 per cent and launched a USD2bn share buyback scheme, as the energy major takes advantage of stronger energy prices to try to attract back investors, said The Financial Times.

　　Thursday’s moves, which came as the group reported a jump in second-quarter earnings helped by oil’s recovery above USD70 a barrel, were more aggressive than analysts had anticipated and show the pressure on energy majors to resurrect flagging share prices.

　　France’s TotalEnergies also reported strong results on Thursday with its highest half-year earnings in five years, and will use some of its cash flow for share buybacks. Investors remain wary of a sector that has been hard hit by two price slumps since 2015 while facing the long-term challenge of a possible peak in oil demand and increasing government action to tackle climate change.

　　Shell’s shares rose 3.5 per cent on Thursday but remain more than 40 per cent down from where they were two years ago, when oil prices were marginally lower. The company had said in April the dividend would probably remain unchanged for the rest of 2021 after raising it slightly at its previous earning report.

　　“There is an element of confidence in raising the dividend,” said Ben van Beurden, chief executive. "We felt that our dividend needed to be reset as the gap between our dividend payout and free cash flow was simply too large. We wanted to signal to the market the confidence we have in our prospects and cash flows by making it permanent."

　　Analysts said the focus on returning cash was an effort to demonstrate that the energy majors remain huge generators of free cash flow when energy prices are strong, with the ability to bolster payouts to yield-hungry investors. "Shell’s stepping up distributions is extremely positive," said Biraj Borkhataria at RBC Capital Markets.

　　Shell’s dividend will rise to 24 cents a share from the second quarter, although it remains well below its pre-pandemic level. Last year the company slashed it by two-thirds to 16 cents, the first reduction since the second world war, as pandemic-induced lockdowns hit energy demand and pushed oil prices below USD20 a barrel. The policy of increasing dividends 4 per cent a year “remains unchanged”, the company said.

　　The buybacks were more widely anticipated, with investors keen to see energy companies returning cash rather than raising investment. Many had predicted, however, that the buyback would be closer to USD1.5bn. Shell said it would keep holding capital expenditure below USD22bn for the year. Oil and gas majors in Europe are trying to balance investor demand for higher returns and pressure to adjust their business models to align with climate goals.

　　Van Beurden said he was increasingly confident oil prices would remain strong in the medium term, partly resulting from under-investment in the sector, but indicated any increases to planned capital expenditure would be weighted towards the company’s strategy of boosting cleaner fuels such as hydrogen.

　　In the second quarter, Shell reported adjusted net profit of $5.5bn, slightly ahead of analyst expectations of USD5bn and up from USD3.2bn in the first quarter. Cash flow from operations, excluding working capital movements, hit USD14.2bn in the second quarter, exceeding analyst expectations for USD12.1bn. Total’s adjusted net income rose 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter to USD3.5bn.

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