(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors - UK) Be careful what you wish for. Reaching the pinnacle of your career and getting one of the top jobs in your industry isn't necessarily all it is cracked up to be
In an inauspicious start to Ben van Beurden's stint in charge of Shell the new chief executive stunned markets with a warning that fourth quarter profits will be significantly short of its and City expectations
Shell now expects underlying earnings of about US$2.9bn for the three months to December, some US$2bn shy of forecasts
As disappointing starts go Ben van Beurden's, who took over the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas giant just two and half weeks ago, comes second only to new Manchester United manager David Moyes
A US$2bn profit shortfall will make investors wonder whether BvB, like Moyes, has taken over a dynasty in decline € or merely that the changing of the guard coincides with a blip in otherwise stellar performance
Some suggest - stretch the analogy further, if you really want to - that the new boss may intend to play down the quality of his new organisation, and the strength of its position, in order to first manage expectations at a clearly challenging time. He can then look all the greater once performance 'recovers' back to expected levels
This sort of move, referred to in the City as 'kitchen-sinking', could be behind such a substantial miss, says oil market expert Malcolm Graham Wood
"Incoming CEO Ben van Beurden has, probably correctly, decided to clear the decks and leave himself a decent starting point to what might be ten years in the job," he said in his dialy blog
"So, lets say that about half of the warning is justified on trading grounds with bad news in most areas.
"The market has only taken the shares down 4% as I write and it probably suspects that this move is a tad on the cynical side coming as it does from a new CEO just before the reporting season.
Whatever the motivations, the profit warning sent Shell shares 2% lower on Friday, with £1.1bn being wiped off the oil supermajor's market value. That equates to a loss of about 65mln for each day that BvB has been in charge
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