By
Darya Rudz
October 26th, 2023
BP reported a profit of $9.3 billion, compared with a loss of $20.4 billion for the first quarter of 2022.
British oil and gas company BP Plc (NYSE: BP) has seen a jump in its quarterly revenue as it comes off as one of the prominent oil companies that are benefitting from the rise in commodity prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
As highlighted in its Q2 performance report, BP said its underlying replacement cost profit was $8.5 billion, compared with $6.2 billion for the previous quarter. The $8.5 billion recorded came in at about 3x the $2.8 billion recorded in the second quarter of last year. The company is positioned strategically to benefit from the rising oil prices in the UK and even in other European countries.
BP noted that this strong cost profit “was driven by strong realized refining margins, continuing exceptional oil trading performance, and higher liquids realizations.”
BP also reported a profit of $9.3 billion, compared with a loss of $20.4 billion for the first quarter of 2022. The London-headquartered company said it will increase its quarterly dividends payout by 10%, a figure that will amount to $6.006 per share. The company’s performance had fueled a marginal spike in the shares of the company in New York in today’s pre-market.
At the time of writing, BP was changing hands at 2.58% to $29.80, placing the share’s year-to-date gains at more than 20%.
While BP is enjoying the British energy woes, it is not alone in this regard as its major competitor, Shell PLC (LON: SHEL) also posted a humongous second-quarter revenue of $11.5 billion. With the impressive price growths, what is unique to these big energy firms is their share buyback programs to which Shell is committing $6 billion following its record-breaking quarter.
Activists Criticize British Oil BP for Profiteering in Energy Crisis
Environmental activists in the United Kingdom want the government to crack down heavily on some British oil giants including BP and Shell for profiting in an era when households are finding it very difficult to heat their homes.
“Every family should get a fair price for the energy they need. But with energy bills rising much faster than wages, high profits are an insult to families struggling to get by,” Trades Union Congress General Secretary Frances O’Grady said in a statement. “For a fair approach to the cost of living crisis, price hikes and profits should be held back. Ministers must do more to get wages rising across the economy. And we should bring energy retail firms into public ownership so we can reduce bills for basic energy needs.”
By October the potential amount spent on consumer energy tariffs is expected to rise as much as 60%, a figure that will likely take the annual energy bills to £3,200 ($3,845). Should this projection come to pass, at least 1 in 3 homes in the UK may be unable to heat their homes to a desirable temperature, a scenario many consider to be largely unfair.