Investing.com -- Shell (BS:SHELl) has lifted its dividend after the energy major posted full-year adjusted earnings of $28.25 billion.
In an earnings release, Shell said that it would raise its dividend per share for the fourth quarter by 4%. The London-based firm, which returned $23B to shareholders last year, said it would also commence a fresh $3.5B buyback program in the current quarter, keeping pace with the level seen in the prior three months.
Buoyed by bumper profits over the past two years, Shell and its peers have recently rolled out large repurchasing drives.
Adjusted net income for the three months ended on Dec. 31 came in at $7.31B, slipping from $9.81B in the year-ago period but above average analyst estimates of $6.14B cited by Bloomberg. Shell said the bottom-line figure reflected "exceptional" opportunities in gas trading and higher liquefied natural gas volumes.
London-listed shares in the firm rose on Thursday.