British energy giant Shell on Thursday announced a 17-percent drop in annual net profit owing to weaker oil and gas prices as well as asset write-offs.

Profit after tax fell to $16.1 billion in 2024, the company said in an earnings statement.

Revenue dropped nearly 11 percent to $289 billion in a year that saw Shell backtrack on some key climate targets.

Chief executive Wael Sawan described last year's financial performance as "strong" despite "a lower price environment", causing Shell to increase its dividend by four percent and repurchase $3.5 billion of company shares.

Sawan added that Shell will in March update its "strategy to deliver more value with less emissions".

Shell last year booked a significant write-down owing to a shelved biofuels project in the Netherlands.

The company, along with rival BP, has scaled back various climate objectives to focus more on oil and gas in order to raise profits, drawing criticism from environmental activists.

"Shell and its shareholders again raked in tens of billions from fueling the climate crisis last year," Elena Polisano, head of Greenpeace UK's Stop Drilling campaign, said in reaction to the latest results.