London  - Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell Thursday announced a 14-per-cent rise in 2008 annual profits to 31.4 billion dollars, a record in British corporate history.

The result was achieved on the back of record oil prices last summer, but in the last quarter of 2008, profits fell by 28 per cent compared with the same period in 2007.

Shell said profits in the last quarter, when the price for crude oil dropped sharply, were 4.8 billion dollars, compared with 6.7 billion dollars the year before.

The fourth-quarter profit was 56 per cent lower than the previous quarter.

Oil prices reached a high of 157 dollars a barrel in July 2008 before falling to below 50 dollars by the year end. (dpa)