4 November 2025
If you are covering BP’s latest financial results, please find below a comment from Maurizio Carulli, global energy analyst at Quilter Cheviot:
“BP’s third quarter results were both positive in their own right, and better than expectations. This is the second consecutive quarter that BP results are strong, and it is a marked difference with the now seemingly almost distant past when the company was delivering poor performance quarter after quarter.
“Management, led by CEO Murray Auchinchloss and CFO Kate Thomson, has clearly steadied the ship and started to deliver sound operational performance. We can now confidently declare that the turnaround is underway and is looking successful. A refreshed Board, now with strong energy experience, plus a new Chairman, should add additional impetus to strategic choices going forward. This should also quell some of the activist voices that have been present for BP over the last 12 months.
“Reassuringly, results were solid in all division, both upstream and downstream. Two figures need to be highlighted in these results: the robust operating cash flow in the quarter at $7.8bn, which was better both sequentially and versus the previous year. And the Net Debt which remained flat at £26 despite a $1.2 hybrid bond reimbursement.
“It is also understood that the planned sale of Castrol is progressing well, with strong interest on the asset. So Net Debt, is expected to decrease over time toward the end-of-2027 BP’s target of $14-18bn. Following its strategic reset, BP embarked on a selective asset sale process, and this does appear to be helping significantly. Provided it continues to cut costs sustainably, and reinvest it into strong performing assets, this turnaround should be sustained for some time to come.”
