MOSCOW (MRC) -- BP reported first-quarter profit largely in line with expectations on Tuesday, citing tough market conditions at the start of the year, said Cnbc.
The British oil giant posted first-quarter underlying replacement cost profit, used as a proxy for net profit, of USD2.4 billion, versus USD2.3 billion expected in a Reuters poll. That compared with a profit of USD2.6 billion a year earlier and USD3.5 billion in the final three months of 2018.
It marks the first significant setback in BP’s steady recovery over the past 18 months.
"It was a pretty resilient set of results actually given the environment we came into at the start of the year,” Brian Gilvary, chief financial officer at BP, told CNBC’s "Squawk Box Europe" on Tuesday.
Gilvary said the three-month period through to March had been particularly “tough” because of adverse weather conditions, assets being put out of action and lower oil prices in January.
"I think oil prices look pretty firm given where we are today but we are going to continue to maintain capital discipline," he added.
Shares of BP rose almost 1% during morning deals.
BP has started major upstream offshore projects in the Gulf of Mexico, Trinidad and Egypt in 2019, with final investment decisions taken for three additional upstream projects.
The company also reported “strong progress” towards its published targets for greenhouse gas emissions following reduced operational emissions in 2018, with methane intensity “remaining on target”. In March 2019, BP established a $100m fund to reduce emissions, as well as an agreement with the Environmental Defence Fund to reduce methane emissions across its operations.
BP CEO Bob Dudley said: “BP’s performance this quarter demonstrates the strength of our strategy. With solid Upstream and Downstream delivery and strong trading results, we produced resilient earnings and cash flow through a volatile period that began with weak market conditions and included significant turnarounds. ЭMoving through the year, we will keep our focus on disciplined growth, with efficient project execution and safe and reliable operations.Э
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