Energy giant BP has revealed lower-than-expected profits in the face of lower oil prices and weaker refining margins than this time last year.
BP said that underlying replacement cost profit – its preferred measure – was 2.7 billion US dollars (£2.2 billion) in the first quarter, down from 4.9 billion dollars (£3.9 billion) a year earlier.
The London-listed company also revealed plans to deliver two billion dollars (£1.6 billion) extra in cost savings by 2026.
The company said it will continue to hand more cash to shareholders despite the fall in profits, announcing a new 1.75 billion dollar (£1.4 billion) share buyback.
Murray Auchincloss, BP’s chief executive, said: “We’ve delivered another resilient quarter financially and continued to make progress on our strategy.
“Oil production was up and our Ace (Azeri Central East) platform in the Caspian is now producing.
“We are simplifying and reducing complexity across BP and plan to deliver at least two billion dollars of cash cost savings by the end of 2026 through high grading our portfolio, digital transformation, supply chain efficiencies and global capability hubs.”
It comes a week after rival Shell reported better-than-expected earnings over its first quarter of the year.