Royal Dutch Shell PLC on Wednesday posted a 62 percent drop in net profit on weak demand for oil. However, it still beat analysts' expectations for the first quarter. Shell's net profit for the three months ended March 31 was $3.49 billion, down from $9.08 billion in the year-earlier period. Group revenue fell 49 percent to $58.22 billion from $114.3 billion a year ago. Analysts expected a new profit of $2.55 billion. Chief Financial Officer Peter Voser Wednesday said in a call with analysts that Shell will cut costs to adapt to the new oil prices, which remain down significantly from their July 2008 highs.
