Shell Predicts Major Drop in Quarterly Profits Due to Seasonal Shifts and Writedowns

Shell expects significantly lower second-quarter profits from its gas trading division compared to the first quarter.
Shell announced $3 billion in writedowns for the second quarter, mostly due to an increase in the discount rate used to test for impairment.
Shell predicts an adjusted corporate loss of between $600 million and $800 million for the quarter.
Performance in Shell's chemicals and products division is expected to be lower than in the first quarter.
Shell's upstream division is expected to report adjusted earnings of between $2.5 billion and $2.8 billion.