STORY: Oil giant Shell comfortably beat expectations in the first quarter.
The London-listed firm reported first-quarter profit of $7.7 billion on Thursday.
It credited strong oil trading and higher refining margins.
CEO Wael Sawan said Shell delivered a strong quarter, while also keeping its focus on delivering more value with less emissions.
Shell's performance outdid rivals.
Last week, Exxon, Chevron and TotalEnergies all reported a drop in profits from a year earlier.
They faced a sharp downturn in natural gas prices.
Shell's chemicals and products divisions was a particularly strong performer.
It saw a more-than-threefold rise in adjusted earnings from the previous quarter to $2.8 billion.
Though Shell said the results were offset by a weaker showing from its liquefied natural gas trading business as sales there dropped 7%.
The company also announced it will repurchase $3.5 billion of its shares over the next three months.
Its stock has gained about 14% this year.
Investors have cheered Sawan's efforts to cut costs and focus the company on its most profitable operations.
