Shell reports a record $9.1 billion profit.

Shell, Europe’s largest energy company, reported on Thursday its biggest-ever quarterly profit, reflecting high prices for oil and natural gas spurred by the war in Ukraine and tightness in world energy markets.

The company’s adjusted earnings of $9.1 billion for the January-to-March period were almost triple the $3.2 billion it earned a year earlier.

Shell also said it would increase the pace of share buybacks in the second quarter, to $4.5 billion from $4 billion in the first quarter, and raise the dividend by 4 percent, to 25 cents per share.

Beyond high energy prices, Shell took advantage of the volatility in the markets to rake in trading profits. It also cut costs deeply during the pandemic, enhancing profit now that prices and sales volumes have risen.