BP posts sharp fall in first-quarter profit on weaker oil prices

British oil giant COP On Tuesday, published a slightly lower than expected first quarter net profit, following a recent strategic reset and a collapse of raw prices.

The major oil and besieged gas has displayed an underlying replacement cost profit, used as an indirect indicator of net profit, of $ 1.38 billion for the first three months of the year. This missed the expectations of $ 1.6 billion analysts, according to a compiled consensus of LSEG.

BP’s net profit had reached $ 2.7 billion a year earlier and $ 1.2 billion in the last three months of 2024.

The results arise as the energy major faces new pressure from militant investors less than two months after announcing a strategic reset.

Seeking to rebuild investors’ confidence after an extended period of underperformance compared to its peers of industry, BP undertook in February to reduce renewable expenditure and to stimulate annual expenses for its core business of oil and gas.

The green U-Tour strategy does not seem to have gone far enough for the activist investor Elliott Management, who became a public last week with a participation of more than 5% in the listed company.

The disclosure means that the second US shareholder in the BP hedge fund after BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world, according to LSEG Data.

Elliott would first have assumed a position in the oil and gas company in February, which made a rally of the action course in the middle of the expectations that its involvement could put pressure on BP to put the gears back to its oil and gas activities.

In particular, BP suffered a rebellion of shareholders at its annual general meeting earlier this month. Almost a quarter (24.3%) of investors vote Against the re -election of the outgoing president Helge Lund, a symbolic result which reflected a feeling of deep frustration among the shareholders of the company.

– Ruxandra Iordache de CNBC contributed to this report.

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