Royal Dutch Shell plc Fourth Quarter 2014 Interim Dividend

THE HAGUE, January 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

The Board of Royal Dutch Shell plc ("RDS")(NYSE:RDS.A)(NYSE:RDS.B) today announced an interim dividend in respect of the fourth quarter of 2014 of US$0.47 per A ordinary share ("A Share") and B ordinary share ("B Share"), an increase of US$0.02 on the equivalent US dollar dividend for the same quarter last year.

The Board expects that the first quarter 2015 interim dividend will be US$0.47, equal to the US dollar dividend for the same quarter in the previous year. The first quarter 2015 interim dividend is scheduled to be announced on April 30, 2015.

Details relating to the fourth quarter 2014 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  Q4 2014
    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 March 6, 2015.

   
    Per ADS             Q4 2014
    RDS A ADSs (US$)    0.94
    RDS B ADSs (US$)    0.94

Cash dividends on American Depository Shares ("ADSs") will be paid in US dollars.

ADS stands for an American Depositary Share. ADR stands for an American Depositary Receipt. An ADR is a certificate that evidences ADSs. ADSs are listed on the NYSE 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. In many cases the terms ADR and ADS are used interchangeably.

Dividend timetable for the fourth quarter 2014 interim dividend 

Announcement date                                        January 29,    2015
Ex-dividend date RDS A ADSs and RDS B ADSs (Note 1)      February 11,   2015
Ex-dividend date RDS A and RDS B shares (Note 1)         February 12,   2015
Record date                                              February 13,   2015
Closing of currency election (Note 2)                    February 27,   2015
Pounds sterling and euro equivalents announcement date   March 6,       2015
Payment date                                             March 20,      2015

Note 1

The London Stock Exchange and Euronext Amsterdam, with effect from October 6, 2014 reduced the standard settlement cycle in accordance with the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on improving securities settlement in the European Union and on central securities depositories (CSDs) and amending Directive 98/26/EC (the "CSD Regulation"). This CSD Regulation aims to harmonise EU securities settlement cycles towards a T + 2 cycle. As a result, RDS A shares and RDS B shares traded on these markets will now settle one day quicker than the RDS A ADSs and RDS B ADSs traded in the United States. Record dates will not change. The timings of these are detailed above.

Note 2

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.  Please contact your broker, financial intermediary, bank or financial institution where you hold your securities account for the election deadline that applies.

Taxation cash dividends 

Cash dividends on A Shares will be subject to the deduction of Netherlands dividend withholding tax at the rate of 15%, which may be reduced in certain circumstances. Provided certain conditions are met, shareholders in receipt of A Share cash dividends may also be entitled to a non-payable dividend tax credit in the United Kingdom.

Shareholders resident in the United Kingdom, receiving cash dividends on B Shares through the Dividend Access Mechanism, are entitled to a tax credit. This tax credit is not repayable. Non-residents may also be entitled to a tax credit, if double tax arrangements between the United Kingdom and their country of residence so provide, or if they are eligible for relief given to non-residents with certain special connections with the United Kingdom or to nationals of states in the European Economic Area.

The amount of tax credit is 10/90ths of the cash dividend, the tax credit referable to the fourth quarter 2014 interim dividend of US$0.47 is US$0.05 per ordinary share and the dividend and tax credit together amount to US$0.52. The pounds sterling and euro equivalents will be announced on March 6, 2015.

Dividend reinvestment plan 

Equiniti and ABN AMRO Bank N.V. each have established a dividend reinvestment facility 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 plans (the "DRIPs") are provided by ABN AMRO Bank N.V. in respect of shares held through Euroclear Nederland and by Equiniti in respect of all other shares (but not ADSs). DRIPs for the ADSs (both Class A ADSs and Class B ADSs) traded on the NYSE are available through The Bank of New York Mellon.

Enquiries about the DRIPs, including how to elect to participate and information about the reinvestment mechanisms under the respective plans should, in the case of shareholders holding through Euroclear Nederland, be directed to their bank or broker and in the case of all other shareholders (other than holders of ADSs) to Equiniti. Enquiries relating to the DRIPs for ADSs (both Class A ADSs and Class B ADSs) should be made to The Bank of New York Mellon.

CAUTIONARY NOTE: 

The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate entities. In this release "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 release refer to companies over which Royal Dutch Shell plc  either directly or indirectly has control. Companies over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to "joint ventures" and companies over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as "associates". In this release, joint ventures and associates may also be referred to as "equity-accounted investments". 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 release 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 release, 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. All forward-looking statements contained in this release 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 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2013 (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 release and should be considered by the reader.  Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this release, January 29, 2015. 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 release.

We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this release that 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 . You can also obtain these forms from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.

Contacts: 

- Investor Relations: International +31(0)70-377-4540; North America +1-832-337-2034

- Media:International +44(0)207-934-5550; USA +1-713-241-4544

SOURCE Royal Dutch Shell plc