Shell plc ADR

This is our first report on energy major, Shell. Amid volatile energy prices, the company’s performance in the quarter was decent as it surpassed the revenue expectations of Wall Street but missed out on earnings. A strong performance was seen in energy solutions, renewables, and upstream products. The optimization and trading results of Shell across its business were strong, particularly in power and gas in its RES business. The current energy sector outlook appears to be positive and it has been the best performing sector on Wall Street for the past year which has benefitted Shell. The net debt of the company decreased further, and it continues to strengthen its balance sheet. Shell is adding significant gas production by finishing the refit of the floating production, offloading vessel, and storage for producing natural gas from Pierce oil fields. On the Crux field in Australia, final investment decisions have been taken by Shell, which will provide oil for Prelude, its floating LNG facility. In the Netherlands, Shell is building an equalizer that makes hydrogen for wind power. Overall, we initiate coverage on the stock of Shell with a ‘Hold’ rating.