LONDON, May 2 Reuters Shell on Thursday reported firstquarter adjusted earnings of 7.7 billion, sharply beating expectations, on the back of strong oil trading and higher refining margins.

The oil major also announced it will repurchase a further 3.5 billion of its shares over the next three months, at a similar rate to the previous quarter. Its dividend remained unchanged.

Shell delivered another quarter of strong operational and financial performance, demonstrating our continued focus on delivering more value with less emissions, CEO Wael Sawan said in a statement.

Analysts had expected firstquarter adjusted earnings of 6.46 billion, against 9.65 billion a year earlier.

The company had posted 7.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, boosted by strong LNG trading results.

Shell shares have gained about 14 this year, buoyed by Sawan39;s efforts to cut costs and focus the company on its most profitable oprations.

Rivals Exxon Mobil, Chevron and TotalEnergies last week reported a drop in profits from a year earlier, reflecting a sharp downturn in natural gas prices after a warmer than usual Northern Hemisphere winter cut demand and pushed up inventories.

WEAKER LNG

Shell39;s chemicals and products divisions, which include refining and oil trading, registered a more than threefold rise in adjusted earnings from the previous quarter to 2.8 billion, driven by strong gains from trading and refining.

The results were offset by weaker results from its flagship…