Oil giant Shell defends record £1m an hour profit

[theHandpuppet]

http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=131512005

Shell defends record £1m an hour profit

IAN JOHNSTON


OIL giant Shell yesterday announced record profits of more than £1 million an hour, amid a storm of criticism from motorists, lorry drivers, small businesses and a host of other groups who say they are forced to pay too much for fuel.

The company’s profit figure for 2004 was £9.3 billion, up 38 per cent on the previous year and beating the previous UK profits record of £7.7 billion, which was made by banking giant HSBC last year.

The announcement prompted a leading Labour MP to call for a windfall tax on Shell to be considered as union leaders described the figure as "more than excessive" and "obscene".

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