Shell's second-quarter profit slumps 82% on coronavirus hit to oil prices, energy demand - CNBC

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday reported a sharp drop in net profit for the three months through to the end of June, following an unprecedented period of energy market turmoil and significantly weaker oil and gas prices.

This followed an impairment charge of $16.8 billion post-tax over the same period, given the oil major now anticipates significantly lower oil and gas prices over the next 30 years.

"It is, of course, a non-cash measure and it is reflective of how we see the environment going forward but yes, in the sense that we needed to do a review of our balance sheet, we are done," Ben van Beurden, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Thursday.

"Inevitably, the biggest talking point in this morning's results from Royal Dutch Shell is the huge loss the company has incurred — largely as a result of revised pricing," Stuart Lamont, investment manager at Brewin Dolphin, told CNBC via email.

Shell explained its second-quarter reflected weaker-than-expected commodity prices and lower realized refining margins, oil products sales volumes, and higher wells write-offs when compared to the same period last year. .

If you look at $600 million earnings or, more importantly, the $6.5 billion of cash flow, that shows that actually the company has a lot of operational strength," Shell's van Beurden told CNBC on Thursday.

The company also lowered its Brent price forecast to $40 in 2021 and $50 in 2022, having previously said it expected prices to average $60 for each respective year.