Shell today recorded the highest profit in its 115-year history as it benefited from soaring energy prices driven by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. It said that core profits rocketed to 84.3 billion dollars (£68.1billion) in 2022, surpassing the expectations of industry experts.
Adjusted earnings, including taxes, more than doubled to 39.9 billion dollars (£32.2 billion). Shell said it paid 1.9 billion dollars (£1.5 billion) in windfall tax charges to the UK and EU.
The record profits have heaped pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to increase the windfall tax on oil and gas giants. Labour said Mr Sunak was “too weak” to stand up to energy firms, and the Liberal Democrats said the companies must pay more tax at a time when people were struggling to heat their homes.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) said an increased windfall tax could help fund wage rises for public sector workers currently locked in a wave of strikes in a protest over pay. But the Government is not considering such a move, Downing Street indicated, with the Prime Minister’s spokesman telling reporters he was “not aware of any plans for that”.
From April, the energy bill for an average household will be capped at £3,000, up from the current £2,500. Oil and gas firms are subject to the energy profits levy, a windfall tax which increased from 25% to 35% in January, but critics have said that it should go further.
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