BP's Q1 Earnings & Revenues Miss Estimates on Weak Refining

BP plc BP reported first-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of 53 cents per American Depositary Share on a replacement-cost basis, excluding non-operating items. The figure lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 56 cents. The bottom line also declined from the year-ago reported figure of 97 cents.

Total quarterly revenues of $47.9 billion lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $57.2 billion and declined from $49.9 billion reported a year ago.

The weak quarterly results can be primarily attributed to lower liquid price realizations and weaker refining margins. Lower contributions from the company's customers and products business also affected the results.

Operational Performance

Oil Production & Operations

For the first quarter, BP reported a total production of 1,475 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (Mboe/d), up from 1,463 MBoe/d recorded in the year-ago quarter. The metric beat our estimate of 1,461.5 MBoe/d.

BP sold liquids at $67.50 per barrel in the first quarter, down from $70.53 reported a year ago. The company sold natural gas at $4.74 per thousand cubic feet, up from $2.66 reported in the year-ago quarter. Overall, hydrocarbon price realization increased year over year to $56.45 per Boe from $54.11.

After adjusting for non-operating items, underlying replacement cost earnings before interest and tax for the segment amounted to $2.9 billion. The figure was below the $3.1 billion recorded in the year-ago quarter. However, it surpassed our estimate of $2.5 billion. The segment was affected by lower price realizations for liquids. However, this was partially offset by increased production volumes.

Gas & Low Carbon Energy

Segmental profits totaled $997 million, lower than the $1,658 million registered in the year-ago quarter. The segment was hurt by disappointing trading performance and the effects of asset divestments in Egypt and Trinidad. The figure missed our projection of $1.65 billion.

Total production of 764 MBoe/d declined from 914 MBoe/d in the year-ago quarter.

Customers & Products

After adjusting for non-operating items, underlying replacement cost earnings before interest and tax for the segment were reported at $677 million, significantly down from $1,289 million in the year-ago quarter. The figure, however, beat our projection of a profit of $550.5 million. The segment was primarily affected by lower refining margins, which were offset partially by favorable contributions from its customers' business.

BP-operated refining availability in the March-ended quarter was 96.2%, marking an increase from 90.4% in the year-ago quarter.

Total refinery throughputs were 1,496 thousand barrels per day (MBbl/D), up from 1,355 MBbl/D in the corresponding period of 2024.

Capex

Organic capital expenditure in the reported quarter totaled $3.4 billion. The company registered a total capital spending of $3.6 billion for the quarter.

Financials

BP's net debt was $27 billion at the end of the first quarter. Also, the firm announced a gearing of 25.7% in the reported quarter.

Outlook

BP, carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), stated that its upstream production on a reported basis for the second quarter of 2025 would be flat sequentially.  For 2025, the company expects both reported and underlying upstream production to remain lower than the prior-year figures. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Other Energy Majors

Two other major energy players, Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM and Chevron Corporation CVX, are yet to report first-quarter 2025 results. Both ExxonMobil and Chevron are integrated energy players like BP.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings for XOM is pegged at $1.72 per share, while the same for CVX stands at $2.30.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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