THE HAGUE, Netherlands,
November 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
The Board of Royal Dutch Shell plc ("RDS") (NYSE: RDS.A) (NYSE: RDS.B) today announced the Reference
Share Price in respect of the third quarter interim dividend of
2017, which was announced on November 2,
2017 at $0.47 per A ordinary
share ("A Share") and B ordinary share ("B Share") and $0.94 per American Depository Share
("ADS").
Reference Share Price
The Reference Share price is used for calculating a
Participating Shareholder's entitlement under the Scrip Dividend
Programme, as defined below.
Q3 2017
Reference Share price (US$) 30.925
The Reference Share Price is the US dollar equivalent of the
average of the closing price for the Company's A Shares listed on
Euronext Amsterdam for the five dealing days commencing on (and
including) the date on which the Shares are first quoted
ex-dividend in respect of the relevant dividend.
The Reference Share Price is calculated by reference to the
Euronext Amsterdam closing price in euro. The US dollar equivalent
of the closing price on each of the dealing days referred to above
is calculated using a market currency exchange rate prevailing at
the time.
Reference ADS Price
ADS stands for "American Depositary Share". ADR stands for
"American Depositary Receipt". An ADR is a certificate that
evidences ADSs (though the terms ADR and ADS are often used
interchangeably). ADSs are listed on the NYSE under the symbols
RDS.A and RDS.B. Each ADS represents two ordinary shares, two
ordinary A Shares in the case of RDS.A or two ordinary B Shares in
the case of RDS.B.
Q3 2017
Reference ADS price (US$) 61.850
The Reference ADS Price equals the Reference Share Price of the
two A Shares underlying each new A ADS.
Scrip Dividend Programme
RDS provides shareholders with a choice to receive dividends in
cash or in shares via the Scrip Dividend Programme (the
"Programme").
Under the Programme shareholders can increase their shareholding
in RDS by choosing to receive new shares instead of cash dividends,
if approved by the Board. Only new A Shares will be issued under
the Programme, including to shareholders who currently hold B
Shares.
In some countries, joining the Programme may currently offer a
tax advantage compared with receiving cash dividends. In
particular, dividends paid out as shares by RDS will not be subject
to Dutch dividend withholding tax (currently 15 per cent), unlike
cash dividends paid on A shares, and they will not generally be
taxed on receipt by a UK shareholder or a Dutch shareholder.
Shareholders who elect to join the Programme will increase the
number of shares held in RDS without having to buy existing shares
in the market, thereby avoiding associated dealing costs.
Shareholders who do not join the Programme will continue to
receive in cash any dividends approved by the Board.
Shareholders who held only B Shares and joined the Programme are
reminded they will need to make a Scrip Dividend Election in
respect of their new A Shares if they wish to join the Programme in
respect of such new shares. However, this is only necessary if the
shareholder has not previously made a Scrip Dividend Election in
respect of any new A Shares issued.
For further information on the Programme, including how to join
if you are eligible, please refer to the appropriate publication
available on http://www.shell.com/scrip.
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 subsidiaries in general or to those who
work for them. These expressions are also used where no useful
purpose is served by identifying the particular company or
companies. '‘Subsidiaries'’, "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell
companies" as used in this announcement refer to companies 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 a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all
third-party interest.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements 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 "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, 2016 (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, November 23, 2017. 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 Report contains 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
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 . You can also obtain this form from the SEC by
calling 1-800-SEC-0330.
LEI number of Royal Dutch Shell
plc: 21380068P1DRHMJ8KU70
Classification: Additional regulated information required to be
disclosed under the laws of a Member State
Enquiries:
Investor Relations:
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+31(0)70-377-4540
North America
+1-832-337-2034
Media:
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+44(0)207-934-5550
Americas
+1-832-337-4355
SOURCE Royal Dutch Shell plc