BP has postponed a crucial investor meeting as its boss recovers from surgery amid falling profits and slowing production.
The FTSE 100 oil giant yesterday said it has delayed next month’s Capital Markets Day to allow chief executive Murray Auchincloss to recuperate after a ‘planned medical procedure’.
BP warned, meanwhile, that profit for the fourth quarter would be lower than the previous three-month period amid weaker trading at the end of 2024.
Auchincloss, who took over from disgraced former boss Bernard Looney a year ago, is ‘recovering well’ and is expected to be back in the office next month, BP said.
But the investor update scheduled for February 11 in New York will now take place in London on February 26.
Investors are eagerly awaiting clarity on BP’s strategy after putting pressure on Auchincloss, 54, to row back on his predecessors’ shift to green energy. Shareholders have pressed the Canadian businessman to abandon some climate targets.
Operation: BP said it has delayed next month’s Capital Markets Day to allow chief exec Murray Auchincloss (pictured) to recuperate. after a ‘planned medical procedure’
Last year it was reported that he planned to scrap a pledge to cut oil production to 2m barrels a day by the end of the decade.
It comes amid concerns that BP has underperformed its London rival Shell and is lagging behind US peers such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron.
Panmure Liberum analyst Ashley Kelty said:‘We remain of the view that the incumbent board do not have the courage to change direction and revitalise the strategy.
‘The pressure on Auchincloss will only continue to build unless he shows that he can be his own man and step out of Bernard Looney’s shadow.’
And in a further blow, BP yesterday said lower refining margins would dent fourth-quarter profits by up to £246million.
The company’s third-quarter profit tumbled to the lowest level since the pandemic, falling 30 per cent year-on-year to £1.8billion between July and September last year.
Russ Mould, investment director at broker AJ Bell, said: ‘BP’s latest update continues its bad run for news, having suffered impairments and warned of weak refining margins last year.
‘Investors often think BP and its peers are well-oiled machines, pumping out oil and gas with ease and doling out endless dividends and share buybacks. In reality, they operate in a high-risk environment with unpredictable earnings.’
BP said that oil prices were sharply lower in the final three months of 2024, at $74.73 a barrel on average, compared with $80.34 a barrel in the third quarter.
Last week, rival Shell also warned of a weak end to 2024 and was braced for £2bn of impairments as it trimmed its production forecasts.
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