THE HAGUE, Netherlands,
April 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
The Board of Royal Dutch Shell plc ("RDS" or the "Company")
today announced an interim dividend in respect of the first quarter
of 2018 of US$0.47 per A ordinary
share ("A Share") and B ordinary share ("B Share"), equal to the US
dollar dividend for the same quarter last year.
On November 28, 2017, RDS
announced the cancellation of its Scrip Dividend Programme with
effect from the fourth quarter 2017 interim dividend. The
cancellation means the first quarter 2018 interim dividend and
future dividends will be settled entirely in cash, rather than the
Company offering a share-based alternative. For further details
please refer to http://www.shell.com/scrip.
Details relating to the first quarter 2018 interim
dividend
It is expected that cash dividends on the B Shares will be paid
via the Dividend Access Mechanism from UK-sourced income of the
Shell group.
Per ordinary share Q1 2018
RDS A Shares (US$) 0.47
RDS B Shares (US$) 0.47
Cash dividends on A Shares will be paid, by default, in euro,
although holders of A Shares will be able to elect to receive
dividends in pounds sterling.
Cash dividends on B Shares will be paid, by default, in pounds
sterling, although holders of B Shares will be able to elect to
receive dividends in euro.
The pounds sterling and euro equivalent dividend payments will
be announced on June 4, 2018.
Per ADS Q1 2018
RDS A ADSs (US$) 0.94
RDS B ADSs (US$) 0.94
Cash dividends on American Depository Shares ("ADSs") will be
paid, by default, in US dollars.
ADSs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols
RDS.A and RDS.B. Each ADS represents two ordinary shares, two
A Shares in the case of RDS.A or two
B Shares in the case of RDS.B. ADSs are evidenced by an
American Depositary Receipt (ADR) certificate. In many cases the
terms ADR and ADS are used interchangeably.
Dividend timetable for the first quarter 2018 interim
dividend
Announcement date
April 26, 2018
Ex-dividend date
May 10, 2018
Record date
May 11, 2018
Closing of currency election date (Note 1)
May 25, 2018
Pounds sterling and euro equivalents announcement
date June 4, 2018
Payment date
June 18, 2018
Notes
Note 1:
A different currency election date may apply to shareholders
holding shares in a securities account with a bank or financial
institution ultimately holding through Euroclear Nederland. This
may also apply to other shareholders who do not hold their shares
either directly on the Register of Members or in the corporate
sponsored nominee arrangement. Shareholders can contact their
broker, financial intermediary, bank or financial institution for
the election deadline that applies.
Taxation - cash dividends
Cash dividends on A Shares will be subject to the deduction of
Dutch dividend withholding tax at the rate of 15%, which may be
reduced in certain circumstances. Non-Dutch resident shareholders,
depending on their particular circumstances, may be entitled to a
full or partial refund of Dutch dividend withholding tax.
Furthermore, in April 2016, there
were changes to the UK taxation of dividends. The dividend tax
credit was abolished, and a tax free dividend allowance introduced,
this was £5,000 for the 2016/17 and 2017/18 tax years and reduced
to £2,000 for the 2018/19 tax year. Dividend income in excess of
the allowance is taxable at the following rates: 7.5% within the
basic rate band; 32.5% within the higher rate band; and 38.1% on
dividend income taxable at the additional rate.
If you are uncertain as to the tax treatment of any dividends
you should consult your tax advisor.
Dividend Reinvestment Plans
Equiniti Financial Services Limited ("EFSL"), part of the same
group of companies as the Company's Registrar, Equiniti Limited,
has reintroduced its Dividend Reinvestment Plan ("DRIP") which
enables RDS shareholders to elect to have their dividend payments
used to purchase RDS shares of the same class as those already held
by them.
The dividend reinvestment options offered by ABN AMRO Bank N.V.
and The Bank of New York Mellon have also been reintroduced and
shareholders interested in these options should contact the
relevant provider. More information can be found at
http://www.shell.com/drip.
To be eligible for the next dividend, shareholders must make a
valid dividend reinvestment election before the published date for
the close of elections.
Royal Dutch Shell
plc
The Hague, April 26, 2018
CAUTIONARY NOTE
The companies in which Royal Dutch
Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are
separate legal entities. In this announcement "Shell", "Shell
group" and "Royal Dutch Shell" are
sometimes used for convenience where references are made to
Royal Dutch Shell plc and its
subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our"
are also used to refer to Royal Dutch
Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general or to those who
work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is
served by identifying the particular entity or entities.
'‘Subsidiaries'’, "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as
used in this announcement refer to entities over which Royal Dutch Shell plc either directly or
indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements
over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to as
"joint ventures" and "joint operations", respectively.
Entities over which Shell has significant influence but
neither control nor joint control are referred to as "associates".
The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the
direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in an
entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after exclusion of all
third-party interest.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements (within
the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995) concerning the financial condition, results of operations and
businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All
statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be
deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are statements of future expectations that are based on
management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known
and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results, performance or events to differ materially from those
expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking
statements include, among other things, statements concerning the
potential exposure of Royal Dutch
Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's
expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and
assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by
their use of terms and phrases such as "aim", "ambition',
'‘anticipate'’, '‘believe'’, '‘could'’, '‘estimate'’, '‘expect'’,
'‘goals'’, '‘intend'’, '‘may'’, '‘objectives'’, '‘outlook'’,
'‘plan'’, '‘probably'’, '‘project'’, '‘risks'’, "schedule",
'‘seek'’, '‘should'’, '‘target'’, '‘will'’ and similar terms and
phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future
operations of Royal Dutch Shell and
could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed
in the forward-looking statements included in this announcement,
including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil
and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell's products; (c)
currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e)
reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry
competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks
associated with the identification of suitable potential
acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and
completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in
developing countries and countries subject to international
sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments
including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k)
economic and financial market conditions in various countries and
regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation
and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental
entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and
delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in
trading conditions. No assurance is provided that future dividend
payments will match or exceed previous dividend payments. All
forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are
expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements
contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place
undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk
factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch
Shell's Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2017 (available
at http://www.shell.com/investor and http://www.sec.gov). These
risk factors also expressly qualify all forward-looking statements
contained in this announcement and should be considered by the
reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the
date of this announcement, April 26, 2018. Neither Royal Dutch
Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result
of new information, future events or other information. In light of
these risks, results could differ materially from those stated,
implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained
in this announcement.
This announcement may contain references to Shell's website.
These references are for the readers' convenience only. Shell
is not incorporating by reference any information posted on
http://www.shell.com.
We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this
announcement that the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our
filings with the SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider
closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available
on the SEC website http://www.sec.gov.
LEI number of Royal Dutch Shell
plc: 21380068P1DRHMJ8KU70
Classification: Additional regulated information required to be
disclosed under the laws of a Member State
Contacts:
Investor Relations:
Europe
+31(0)70-377-4540;
North America
+1-832-337-2034
Media:
International
+44(0)207-934-5550
Americas
+1-832-337-4355
SOURCE Royal Dutch Shell plc