Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: “The highest quarterly profit in the best part of three years is not a bad way for new BP CEO Meg O’Neill to begin her tenure.
“Circumstances have helped but, as Napoleon famously attested, there’s no harm in being a lucky general.
“While the spike in energy prices may not have fed through to all parts of the business yet and only affected the final few weeks of the first quarter – the impact on BP’s oil trading operations was immediate and significant.
“Notably, it has enabled BP to beat analysts’ expectations.
“Traders do best in periods of volatility as sharp swings in the price create gaps between buyers and sellers, opportunities for arbitrage, and greater hedging demand from industries like the airline sector.
“However, disruption to BP’s own operations in the Middle East may have impacted production given guidance for output to be lower for 2026.
“There may also be some frustration that BP’s hefty borrowing pile has ticked higher on lower operating cash flow and higher costs.
“BP is more heavily indebted than many of its peers and a big item in O’Neill’s in-tray is achieving the targeted reduction in net debt by the end of this year.
“She can’t count on the backdrop remaining helpful indefinitely, and Shell’s acquisition of Canadian shale firm ARC Resources may dial up the pressure for BP to articulate a growth strategy of its own alongside its turnaround plan.”
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