By Ron Bousso and Shadia Nasralla
LONDON (Reuters) -Royal Dutch Shell raised its dividend by 4% on Thursday after reporting stronger-than-expected first quarter profits due to asset sales and higher oil and liquefied natural gas prices.
First-quarter adjusted earnings rose to $3.23 billion, up more than seven-fold from the previous quarter and exceeding an average analyst forecast provided by the company for a $3.125 billion profit.
That compares with earnings of $2.9 billion a year ago.
Shell said in February it would increase its dividend in the first quarter by 4%, the second increase since its slashed its payout by two-thirds at the start of last year due to the pandemic.
(Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by David Clarke and Edmund Blair)
