Shell (SHEL) has committed to staying leaner, and the shift from selling off older assets to running its core projects more effectively has limited the damage in a year in which energy prices slumped.
The energy major's 2024 profit came in under forecasts and fell compared with 2023 due to lower oil and gas prices and lower margins in the downstream business. But management has kept to its $3.5bn (£2.8bn) quarterly buyback programme and raised the dividend by 4 per cent.