BP reveals plans for group-wide costs and business review as profits fall
BP has been under pressure from shareholders to boost profits and cut costs, with activist investor Elliott Management recently taking a 5% stake in the group.
The group saw half-year profits tumble by nearly a third as weaker oil prices weighed on earnings, although it posted a better-than-expected performance for the second quarter.
It reported a 32% fall in underlying replacement cost profits – the group's preferred profit measure – to 3.73 billion US dollars (£2.81 billion) for the six months to June 30.
Underlying profits fell 15% year-on-year to 2.35 billion dollars (£1.77 billion) between April and June, although this was a significant improvement from 1.38 billion dollars (£1.04 billion) in the first quarter and better than most analysts had forecast.
BP's aims to ramp up its overhaul process follows talks with incoming chairman Albert Manifold who starts next month, Mr Auchincloss said.
Mr Auchincloss said: 'He and I have been in discussions and have agreed that we will conduct a thorough review of our portfolio of businesses to ensure we are maximising shareholder value moving forward.
'We are also initiating a further cost review and, whilst we will not compromise on safety, we are doing this with a view to being best in class in our industry.'
'BP can and will do better for its investors,' he added.
In another move to appease shareholders, the FTSE 100 firm also said it would buy back another 750 million dollars (£565 million) in shares and hike the quarterly dividend payout by 4%.
The group's results showed it has already stripped out 900 million dollars (£677 million) in costs over the first half, or 1.7 billion dollars (£1.3 billion) since 2023.
It was not immediately available to comment further on the scope of the new cost review.
Mr Auchincloss said: 'We are two quarters into a 12-quarter plan and are laser-focused on delivery of our four key targets – and while we should be encouraged by our early progress, we know there's much more to do.'
Mr Manifold was recently named to replace incumbent chairman Helge Lund after a difficult past few years in the role.
Formerly chief executive of building materials firm CRH for 10 years, Mr Manifold joins the oil giant as chairman-elect on September 1 before taking over as chairman on October 1.
In a major rejection, Mr Lund received a near 25% vote against his re-election at the firm's annual general meeting in April.
The vote was largely seen as a protest because Mr Lund had already announced his departure at the time of the AGM.
BP is already working on a plan announced in February to cut costs by up to five billion dollars (£3.8 billion) by the end of 2027.
It has also said it will offload 20 billion dollars (£15.1 billion) of assets by the end of 2027.
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