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Summary
- Three top executives of Royal Dutch Shell from different renewable energy business segments have resigned weeks prior to the company’s announcement of its strategy for the energy transition.
- The pandemic outbreak has led to a massive fall in revenues, which has made the company rethink on its strategies on its green transition.
Trouble is brewing at the Royal Dutch Shell (LON: RSuDSA). Three top heads have tendered their resignations over differences with the top management over their green transition plans. The top green energy executives were unhappy with the change in strategy charted out to boost up the revenue levels of the company.
Some reports are suggesting that the main reason behind this development is the differences between these executives and the top management over the transition plan. It is worth mentioning here that earlier this year the company had announced a cut of 40 per cent of its costs in oil and gas production and its plan to redirect the resources to renewable energy resources.
The company has been under tremendous pressure from investors and environmentalists to reduce its carbon footprint in a time bound manner.
Also Read: Royal Dutch Shell Plc (LON:RDSA) Faces First Court Hearing in Climate Change Case
Discord and resignation
The company has yet to share its detailed strategy and this internal turmoil which is definitely going to complicate things. The top heads who have resigned are Marc van Gerven, the head of the storage facilities, solar and the onshore wind business of the company. Eric Bradley worked with the company’s distributed energy division, and Katherine Dixon, who led the energy transition strategy team.
Besides, there are several others who are planning to leave the company because of its “changed priorities”. In an official statement, the company has said it is committed to its objectives of making itself a Zero Emissions Business.
Pandemic Impact
For the third quarter period ending September, the company has reported an income (attributable to shareholders) of $489 million which is almost 92 per cent drop compared to the Q3 2019 figure of $5.879 billion. Similarly, the basic earnings per share of the company for the period stood at US Cents 6 per share compared to US Cents 73 reported for Q3 2019.
For this quarter, the company has announced a dividend of US Cents 16.65 cents compared to US47 cents announced for Q3 2019.
The shares of Royal Dutch Shell Plc (LON: RDSA) last traded at GBX 1,383.80 per share as on 9 December. Holding a market cap of GBP 56,752.95 million, the stock has given a negative return of 36.38 per cent in last one year.
