Pension anger at £2.1m-an-hour Shell

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The FTSE 100 giant, whose pension fund is comfortably big enough to cover its liabilities, reported a 54% increase in profit to $28.6 billion (£18.1 billion) for 2011, as high oil prices pushed up sales by more than a quarter to $470.1 billion. Brent crude averaged $111 a barrel last year, up from $80 in 2010.

Today, the company that is famed for its slogan "You can be sure of Shell" added salt to the wounds of its future pensioners, saying its "improving financial position" would allow for a dividend increase in 2012. Shell added that increasing investment in exploration should push up oil and gas production by a quarter in the next six years.

Len McCluskey, general secretary of the Unite union, said: "Shell reminds us of the moral bankruptcy of the corporate elite. The company is needlessly closing its final salary scheme while posting colossal profits."

Shell admitted last month that its decision to close the FTSE 100's last remaining final salary pension scheme to new members next year did not reflect concerns about future risk, but was instead taken "to reflect market trends in the UK".

Shell chief executive Peter Voser sought to play down the company's profits, pointing out that "our
fourth-quarter results were impacted by a sharp downturn in industry refining margins and North American gas prices".

Shell also reported a $6.46 billion fourth-quarter profit today, 13% higher than the year-earlier period but 11% down on the previous three months, as the group suffered from a weak performance in its refining division.

Voser stands to receive a $1.28 million-a-year pension when he retires, a benefit with a transfer value of $15.3 million. Jeroen van der Veer, the retired chief executive, has a pension with a transfer value of $35.4 million.