-- BP (BP.L) clocked upbeat results for the first quarter on Tuesday, thanks to "significantly" higher realized margins and an "exceptional" contribution from oil trading as the ongoing Iran war keeps prices elevated.
Profit attributable to shareholders for the three months ended March 31 surged year over year to $3.84 billion from $687 million. Adjusted for certain items, the underlying replacement cost profit reached $3.2 billion, up from $1.38 billion a year ago.
Total revenue and other income increased annually to $53.37 billion from $47.88 billion, with the oil and gas giant touting a sequential improvement in upstream plant reliability to 95.7% from 95.4% in the previous quarter. Reported upstream production remained broadly stable as higher production in the Gulf of America and strong performance in bpx Energy offset the impact of disruptions in the Middle East.
On the downstream side, BP's refining availability moved up to 96.3% in the first quarter of 2026 from 96% in the previous three months, exceeding the company's target of 96% availability.
"BP reported strong numbers this morning, with a 20% beat vs. market expectations at the net income level (7% ahead of RBCe)," RBC Capital Markets said. "Looking divisionally, the star of the show was the downstream, with BP reporting higher refining & trading numbers, well in excess of consensus and ~$200m ahead of our estimates for the quarter, supported by exceptional oil trading results."
Against this backdrop, the board declared a higher interim dividend per ordinary share of $0.0832, compared with $0.08 in the prior-year period, payable June 26 to shareholders on record May 15. BP anticipates raising its dividend annually by at least 4% per ordinary share.
Moving ahead, reported upstream production for the three months ending June 30 was guided lower on a quarterly basis owing to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and seasonal maintenance, mainly in the Gulf of America. For full year 2026, reported upstream production is also expected to decline from the previous year.
The company's stock rose over 2% in early morning trade.