BP profits more than double on oil price surge… but boss says it is still ‘not making the most of its potential’
Profits Jump 78 Percent
BP’s quarterly profits have more than doubled in the last year on the back of volatile oil prices. The oil firm revealed underlying replacement cost profit – its preferred measure – jumped by around 78 per cent to $5.7billion (£4.2billion) for the second quarter. It marks the strongest quarterly profit in four years as higher oil prices helped to boost its refining and trading businesses.
The FTSE 100-listed firm also said it would sell its US biogas business, which it bought for $4.1billion in 2022, as part of its streamlining efforts. This move aligns with a broader strategy to simplify the company’s operations after a period of aggressive expansion into renewable energy.
Performance Falls Short
Chief executive Meg O’Neill, who joined in April, said the oil giant was ‘not making the most of our potential’ with areas where performance ‘fell short’. She pointed to a decline in production and a sharp fall in upstream reliability, in addition to BP’s refineries processing less crude.
‘This was due, in part, to planned maintenance and the conflict in the Middle East, but this is a reminder that we have more to do to deliver consistent operational performance,’ said O’Neill. Upstream production will remain under pressure in the third quarter, while full-year reported production is expected to be lower than in 2025.
She admitted that the company’s recent history has been a struggle. ‘Our performance over the past few years has not met our own expectations, let alone those of our shareholders. We have not delivered consistently; we have written off too much value; and our costs and liabilities are not resilient enough in a low price environment.’
Asset Sales Continue
The company promised ‘urgent action’ to progress the business, which includes plans to strengthen the balance sheet and invest with ‘greater discipline’. Since O’Neill’s appointment, BP has been reorganised into two segments, upstream and downstream. In recent weeks, BP has sold its Gelsenkirchen refinery in Germany, agreed to sell its Austrian retail business and announced its intention to sell its North Sea operation.
Today BP announced plans to sell Archaea, a leading provider of renewable natural gas in the US. The sale of these specific assets suggests BP is pulling back from some of its newer ventures to focus on core energy production. The shift represents a pivot back towards fossil fuels after a foray into renewable energy.
‘We know what we need to do, we are taking urgent action and I am confident that this is how we will grow long-term value for shareholders,’ O’Neill said.
Market Reaction
Shares in BP rose 0.72 per cent to 556.1p bringing year-to-date gains to 27 per cent. Analysts noted that the company’s willingness to be ruthless as it trims underperforming assets shows the business is not merely waiting for the market to remain supportive. Assuming disposals achieve sensible prices, the portfolio trim should support further balance sheet improvements after net debt fell by more than $3bn during the quarter.
The 4 per cent dividend increase provides shareholders with a further sign that the balance sheet is moving in the right direction. The broader context of the oil sector remains strong, with Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company by production, reporting adjusted net income of $33.4billion in the second quarter, up 33 per cent year-on-year.
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