BP stock retreated Tuesday after the oil major’s first-quarter profit came in lower than a year ago.
BP
(ticker: BP) American depositary receipts (ADRs) dropped 5.4% in premarket trading. The London shares were down by a similar amount.
The company beat expectations for underlying replacement cost profit at $5 billion in the first three months of the year, up from $4.8 billion in the fourth quarter but lower than $6.3 billion in the same period a year ago. The consensus expectation among analysts had been for underlying profit of $4.3 billion.
Big oil companies such as
BP,
Shell
(SHEL),
Exxon Mobil
(XOM), and
Chevron
(CVX) had record profits in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine boosted the cost of crude worldwide. Oil prices have since fallen back, but output cuts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries should prevent prices from falling too far.
BP said its first-quarter results were bolstered by gas marketing and trading, lower refining shutdowns for maintenance and strong results in oil trading. That offset weaker sales prices for oil and lower refining margins.
The company also announced an additional $1.75 billion in share buybacks that will commence before the company announces second-quarter earnings.
Write to Brian Swint at brian.swint@barrons.com
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