OIL giant Shell said yesterday that profits lifted higher than expected over the past three months, amid a boost from higher sales volumes and trading margins.

The group said it would hand a further $3.5 billion (£2.65bn) back to shareholders as it reported adjusted earnings of $5.43bn (£4.1bn) for the third quarter of 2025, surpassing analyst guidance.

It said this represented a 27 per cent increase on the previous quarter but was lower than the $6bn (£4.6bn) reported over the same period a year earlier.

Campaigners protested at the profits on Wednesday, ahead of its announcement, gathering outside the Shell Centre in London. 

Protesters wore business wear, black dresses and Halloween masks, holding placards reading: “Shell’s profits are a horror show” and “Trick or Trick?”

Fossil Free London director Robin Wells said: “Each quarter, Shell’s inordinate profits are announced, with no acknowledgement of the exploitation and destruction of communities across the world that enables this greed. 

“We’re here to say that Shell’s profits are a horror show. 

“And that when it comes to Big Oil, it’s always trick or trick.”