Shell has posted its Q4 2008 and annual earnings today. The company performed fairly well, but took a hard hit with a $2.81 billion net loss in Q4 because of falling crude prices which reached five-year lows to about $33 per barrel. However, in Q4 2007, the company earned an $8.47 billion profit. Aggregately, in 2008, total revenue was up 29% to $458 billion. For the year, Shell had a net profit of $26.28 billion, down 16% from 2007.The company produced 3.415 million barrels per day in Q4.

Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer said “We delivered satisfactory performance in the fourth quarter of 2008, given the pressure on demand for oil and gas due to a weaker global economy. Our strategy remains to pay competitive and progressive dividends, and to make significant investments in the company for future profitability.”

It is important to note we can expect oil prices to increase significantly to around $90 a barrel as the world economies rise out of recession and demand for oil increases. Companies like Shell will again experience large earnings such as Q4 2007, but the rest of us will feel the pintch.