Bumper BP profits reignite debate over tougher windfall tax
BP has beaten City forecasts to post one of the largest first-quarter profits in its history despite an easing in energy prices, reigniting a debate over windfall gains by oil and gas firms.
The energy company said its underlying profits reached $5bn (£4bn) in the first three months of the year, outstripping analysts’ forecasts of $4.3bn.
It represents the second-best results for the first quarter that it has notched up since 2012, when it made $4.7bn, behind last year’s $6.2bn.
BP said its results had been boosted by reduced refining costs, an “exceptional” result in its gas trading arm and a “very strong oil trading result”. Volatility in the energy markets has incereased revenues in the trading divisions of oil companies.
The company increased its dividend, and said it would reward investors, buying back $1.75bn of its own shares, a slowdown on the $2.75bn bought during the previous quarter. Shares fell nearly 4% on Tuesday morning, making it one of the top fallers on the FTSE 100.
The results will return attention to the debate over whether oil and gas firms should face a harsher windfall tax on their profits.
Paul Nowak, the TUC general secretary, said oil and gas companies were treating the British public “like cash machines”.
He said: “These eye-watering profits are an insult to working families as millions struggle with sky-high bills. The government has left billions on the table by refusing to impose a proper windfall tax on the likes of BP. And even now ministers are refusing to take action to fix our broken energy market and stop this obscene price gouging.
“We could have lower household bills and an energy system that served the public, if government taxed excessive profits, introduced a social tariff and created
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