Highest quarterly profit since 2008 on strong oil prices

LONDON — Oil giant Shell on Thursday reported its highest quarterly profit since 2008 on soaring commodity prices, fueling calls for a one-off windfall tax on oil and gas companies to help U.K. households with spiraling energy bills.

Shell posted adjusted earnings of $9.1 billion for the three months through to the end of March, in line with expectations of analysts polled by Refinitiv. That compared with $3.2 billion over the same period a year earlier and $6.4 billion for the fourth quarter of 2021.

The company also announced plans to increase its dividend by around 4% to $0.25…