ROYAL Dutch Shell's first-quarter profits have plummeted 58 per cent to $1.6 billion (£1.1bn) as the falling oil price continues to hammer the sector.

The oil and gas giant’s exploration and production business made a $1.4bn loss compared with a $1.4bn profit in the same period last year.

Shell's downstream business, which includes refining, saw profits fall from $2.65bn to $2bn.

However, the results beat analyst expectations and Shell's chief executive Ben van Beurden said the company had made good progress with integrating BG after completing the £37bn takeover of the Berkshire-based firm in February.

"Downstream and Integrated Gas businesses are delivering strong results and underpinning our financial performance despite continued low oil and gas prices,” said Mr van Beurden.

"We continue to reduce our spending levels, to capture cost opportunities and manage the financial framework in today's lower oil price environment.”

Mr van Beurden noted: "The combination with BG is off to a strong start, as a result of detailed forward planning before the completion of the transaction. This will likely result in accelerated delivery of the synergies from the acquisition, and at a lower cost than we originally set out."

Analysts expected Shell to make around $1bn profit in the first quarter.