During the first three months of the year, BP reported that its net debt fell by $5.6 billion to $33.3 billion. Notably, the company hit its target of reducing net debt to $35 billion.
BP Plc (LON: BP) stock was up approximately 2% today to trade around 300 Pence. At the time of writing, it is 0.5% up. The British multinational oil and gas company reported its first-quarter earnings results that incidentally beat analysts’ expectations. Moreover, BP noted in the Q1 earnings report that it will undertake a $500 million stock buyback during the second quarter.
The first quarter was exemplary profitable in comparison to the prior year when the global Eco was hardest hit by the covid crisis. During the first three months of the year, the company saw a shift in demand for its products and expects the situation to improve over time as more people get a vaccination Jab and the global economy get to reopen.
BP Stock Market and Q1 Earnings Results
During the first three months of the year, BP reported that its net debt fell by $5.6 billion to $33.3 billion. Notably, the company hit its target of reducing net debt to $35 billion.
“Overall, a very strong quarter for the company. It has been a year of such uncertainty for the world and the company. There have been many, many questions, of course, and that’s understandable but I think today’s results really answer many of those questions. It shows that it is possible to do two things at once. It is possible to deliver our shareholders with competitive cash returns and at the same time transition the company to a lower carbon future,” BP CEO Bernard Looney told CNBC.
During the first quarter, BP reported a profit of $2.6 billion, whereby it reported a profit of $115 million, and $791 million during the fourth quarter and first quarter of 2020 respectively. According to a survey conducted by Refinitiv, analysts had expected BP to report profits of $1.4 billion. Notably, the company reported that it generated a surplus cash flow of $1.7 billion in the first quarter, after hitting its debt target ahead of the schedule.
“The company has seized the opportunity of a recovery in energy prices to pay down its debts, leaving it well set for the future when conditions might not be so favorable. The crucial question, as yet unanswered is what returns will BP be able to achieve from its growing portfolio of green energy investments. In the meantime, investors can look to a dividend yield of 5%,” noted Steve Clayton, manager of the Hargreaves Lansdown Select UK Income Shares fund.
In a bid to stabilize its stock market, BP has scheduled buyback during the second quarter at a cost of approximately $500 million.
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