Any blemish on BP
For the period, the company earned $6.08 billion, up from $2.56 billion a year ago. On a replacement profit basis -- which excludes special items and the effects of energy prices on inventories -- the company would have earned $5.65 billion, $900 million higher than analysts expected. Revenue increased more than 50%, to $74.42 billion, from the same quarter of last year.
BP's results bode well for other major oil companies that will follow it in announcing earnings this week. Included in that group is ExxonMobil
These numbers were announced as BP participates in an effort to stem a major Gulf of Mexico oil slick that resulted from an April 20 explosion on a Transocean rig on which BP was the operator. In addition to leaking oil, 11 workers are missing and presumed dead. The slick yesterday was reported to be about 15 miles off the Louisiana coast and at a size of about 100 miles by 45 miles.
More positively for BP's upstream activities, the company announced during the quarter that it would pay $7.0 billion for Devon
While we all hope the oil leak will be halted quickly, it's difficult not to be impressed by BP's overall progress under CEO Tony Hayward. The company is fast becoming my favorite among the world's super-majors.