06 February 2024
If you are covering BP’s latest financial results, please find below a comment from Jamie Maddock, energy analyst at Quilter Cheviot:
“BP’s results this morning represent a new start under the new CEO Murray Auchincloss. While profits have fallen sharply from last year as energy prices have normalised somewhat, the oil giant has managed to beat expectations for the fourth quarter of 2023 and deliver earnings of $3bn, driven primarily by oil products and its operations.
“What marks a positive change for the company is how it plans to distribute those profits to shareholders. The dividend, while left unchanged is still 10% higher than it was this time last year, and pleasingly the quarterly share buyback scheme has been increased compared to the previous quarter to $1.75bn. This will boost sentiment at a time when the market has been fairly, and potentially harshly, negative on BP.
“That share buyback scheme has potential to grow too, reaching at least $14bn through to 2025, which would imply an impressive distribution yield and a strong show of confidence in the outlook. BP recognises that it has work to do with shareholders given what has happened over the last 12 months, and this is a positive start to the resetting of that relationship.”
