BP third-quarter profit slumps amid weaker refining margins

BP PLC reported a significant decline in third-quarter profit for 2024, impacted by reduced refining margins and weakening oil prices.

BP third-quarter profit slumps amid weaker refining margins

For the quarter ending September 30, BP’s replacement cost (RC) profit—its preferred profit metric—fell 70% year-over-year to $1.11 billion, down from $3.65 billion in the same period last year. For the first nine months of 2024, RC profit dropped 82% to $2.70 billion from $14.66 billion. Pretax profit also saw sharp declines, tumbling 81% to $1.40 billion in Q3 from $7.31 billion a year earlier, and sliding 68% to $7.29 billion for the year-to-date, compared to $22.65 billion in 2023. Despite the overall drop, underlying RC profit, which excludes certain one-time items, fell 31% to $2.27 billion but exceeded the company-compiled consensus forecast of $2.05 billion. The profit decrease was attributed to "weaker realised refining margins, a weak oil trading result, and lower liquid realisations, partially offset by higher gas realisations," BP explained. Gas marketing and trading results for the quarter were described as "average."

Dividend grows by 10%

Earlier in October, BP had cautioned that lower oil prices, stemming from concerns over Chinese demand and anticipated increased crude production in 2025, would impact its earnings. The average realised oil price per barrel in Q3 was $74.80, down 2.5% from $76.69 a year ago. Benchmark Brent crude averaged $80.34 per barrel, a decline of 5.3% from $84.97 in Q2 and 2.1% lower than $86.75 a year earlier. Total revenue for Q3 fell 11% to $48.33 billion, down from $54.02 billion last year, while year-to-date revenue decreased 8.7% to $146.54 billion from $160.45 billion. BP announced an interim dividend of 8.00 cents per share, a 10% increase from last year’s 7.27 cents per share.