LONDON (AFP) – Britain’s BP yesterday announced a sharp fall in net profit for the third quarter, with the oil and gas giant hit by weak oil trading and refining margins.
Profit after taxation slumped to USD206 million in the three months to September, after a net profit of USD4.9 billion in the same period in 2023, BP said in a results statement.
The group earlier this month flagged to markets that its latest earnings would take a sizeable hit after oil prices have fallen on concerns over demand and the prospect of higher crude production in 2025.
The company’s underlying replacement cost profit excluding exceptional items – a measure of operating earnings – came in at USD2.3 billion, down more than USD1 billion from a year earlier.
Total revenue dropped around 11 per cent to USD48.3 billion.Energy majors have also been impacted by declining gas prices, which have fallen heavily since soaring in early 2022.
“In oil and gas, we see the potential to grow through the decade with a focus on value over volume,” chief executive Murray Auchincloss said in an earnings statement.
Looking to the fourth quarter, the company said it expects to report lower upstream production and lower volumes, and for refining margins to remain low.
