odt.co.nz : Royal Dutch Shell profit overstated $276m: “it had also made errors in the way it accounted for exploration costs, certain gas contracts and the earnings per share of its parent companies.”
Washington: The Royal Dutch Shell Group said Friday the overstatement of its proven oil and gas reserves resulted in profits being exaggerated by $US276 million ($NZ436.1 million), and that "inappropriate" accounting in other areas resulted in profits being embellished by an additional $US156 million.
The revision followed an embarrassing series of disclosures that in total reduced the company's reported reserves by nearly one-quarter and led to the departure of several top executives.
The biggest downward revision was for 2002, when the faulty accounting resulted in profits being overstated by $US208 million.
In 2001 the reduction was $US56 million, in 2000 it was $US122 million and before 2000 it was $US46 million.
The company disclosed the overstated profits in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Friday, explaining that in addition to the problematic reserves accounting it had also made errors in the way it accounted for exploration costs, certain gas contracts and the earnings per share of its parent companies. - AP
Monday, 5-July 2004