Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Huge profits for Mobil and Shell while BP struggles

Updated at 9:15 pm on 30 July 2010

Mobil and Shell have reported huge profits for the second quarter of 2010, days after BP announced record losses.

Royal Dutch Shell reported profits of $6.2 billion, almost double what it earned in the same quarter last year, after it completed a year-long corporate restructuring programme.

Cost savings of $4.6 billion beat its target by about 15% and some six months ahead of schedule. As a result of the changes, Shell says, 7000 employees will leave the company 18 months earlier than planned.

US-based Mobil meanwhile reported a profit of $10.5 billion - an 85% rise from last year.

The profits are in sharp contrast to crisis-hit rival BP, which earlier this week reported a record $22 billion second-quarter loss. That included a provision of $42 billion to cover the costs of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

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