BP posted better-than-expected profits of almost $2.8bn (£2.2bn) for the second quarter and vowed to shower its shareholders with higher dividends and share buybacks over the rest of the year. year.
The company will increase its dividend payments while buying back $1.75 billion worth of stock over the next three months to bring its total buybacks for the first six months of the year to $3.5 billion — and $7 billion for the entire year.
In total, BP has paid out $14.8 billion to shareholders since June 2023, the month that marked the start of the world’s first breach of the 1.5C warming limit, according to analysis by Global Witness .
Alice Harrison, head of fossil fuel campaigns at the campaign group, said: “While millions of us struggle with high temperatures and high bills, BP is making billions in profits, paying massive dividends, and doubling down on new dirty oil projects of gas”.
The shareholder win comes after BP reported better-than-expected profits of $2.76 billion for the April-June period, compared with analysts’ forecasts of $2.54 billion for the quarter .
The company warned investors earlier this month to expect “significantly lower” profit margins from its refining business, which could wipe between $500m and $700m off its earnings for the quarter.
It also told investors it would take a $2 billion writedown resulting from a plan to scale back its refining operations at its Gelsenkirchen refinery in Germany by a third from next year in response to higher demand weak
Although the oil company’s underlying replacement cost profit – the most watched metric by City analysts – reached $2.8bn for the second quarter, its reported result showed a loss of £129m, compared with a reported profit of £1.8bn in the same quarter last year. , due to the writing of the refinery.
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Harrison said: “Fossil fuel companies like BP are turning a blind eye to climate disruption, so now governments must act. Rather than supporting the climate-destroying fossil fuel industry, we need to make polluters pay for the damage they’ve already caused, and lead us towards a cleaner, greener future.”
