May 5, 2023: On Thursday, British oil giant Shell posted a much stronger first-quarter gain, which extends a record run of bumper outcomes after commodity prices increased in 2022 after Russia’s full-scale Ukraine invasion.

Shell stated the adjusted revenue of $9.6 billion for the initial three months of the year, which overcomes analyst anticipation of $8.6 billion.

The company posted adjusted revenues of $9.1 billion over the same period before a year and $9.8 billion for the last three months of 2022.

Shares of the oil major increased 2.2% during mid-morning deals.

Flush with cash, Shell held the prices of its share buyback program firm at $4 billion over the coming three months and kept its dividend untouched at $0.2875 per share.

Shell said its quarterly outcomes reflected improved operational performance and more inferior costs to run its everyday business. It added that robust fuel trading and optimization results offset the impact of weaker oil and gas prices.

The company reported an initial-quarter net deficit of $44.2 billion, down from $48.5 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Reflecting on the first-quarter revenue, CEO Wael Sawan said the company “delivered strong outcomes and robust operational performance, against a decrease of ongoing volatility, while it continues to provide important supplies of secure energy.”

Shell’s results the hot on the heels of U.K. rival BP, which reported a drop in first-quarter profit on Tuesday but beat analyst expectations on robust oil and gas trading. However, shares of BP fell on the news as the London-listed company said it planned to slim down its share buybacks.