Shell profit tumbles 57% in Q2
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Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday said its net profits plunged by 57 percent in the second quarter compared with the equivalent period a year earlier.
The Anglo-Dutch group said earnings after tax slumped to $1.737 billion (1.308 billion euros) in the three months to June 30 compared with $4.1 billion in the second quarter of 2012.
"These results were undermined by a number of factors -- but they were clearly disappointing for Shell", chief executive Peter Voser said in an earnings statement.
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Voser said the group's bottom line was hit by higher costs, exploration charges, adverse currency exchange rates and unrest in major oil producer Nigeria.