Royal Dutch Shell ( is expected to report on January 31 its highest annual profit since 2014, although the oil price plunge late last year may hit Q4 earnings. Shell is forecast to report next Thursday a 39-percent yearly jump in earnings on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis—its closest metric to a net profit closely watched by analysts—to US$21.9 billion, Press Association reports. If Shell meets those estimates, it would book its highest annual profit since oil prices started crashing in 2014. Yet, fourth-quarter earnings may fall below expectations and below the Q3 profit, due to the massive sell-offs in oil between October and December last year, analysts say. According to analyst estimates of more than 20 analysts, the consensus for full-year 2018 CCS earnings is US$20.980 billion, with a high of US$21.989 billion and a low of US$20.325 billion. Fourth-quarter earnings estimates range […]