BP profits slump by £1.7billion in Q1 as oil giant announces cost-cutting plans
BP chief executive Murray Auchincloss
BP has unveiled lower-than-expected profits amid a dip in oil prices and slimmer refining margins compared to last year.
The energy titan reported an underlying replacement cost profit, its preferred metric, of $2.7billion (£2.2billion) for the first quarter, a drop from $4.9billion (£3.9billion) the previous year. Additionally, the London-based firm announced ambitions to achieve an additional $2billion (£1.6billion) in cost savings by 2026.
Despite the profit downturn, BP plans to continue rewarding its shareholders, declaring a new share buyback programme worth $1.75billion (£1.4billion). BP’s chief executive Murray Auchincloss said: “We’ve delivered another resilient quarter financially and continued to make progress on our strategy.”
He added: “Oil production was up and our Ace (Azeri Central East) platform in the Caspian is now producing. We are simplifying and reducing complexity across BP and plan to deliver at least two billion dollars of cash cost savings by the end of 2026 through high grading our portfolio, digital transformation, supply chain efficiencies and global capability hubs.”
This news arrives just a week after Shell, BP’s industry rival, posted earnings that surpassed expectations for its first quarter.