BP PLC (LSE:BP.) trading statement on Tuesday contained several negatives, according to the analysts at US bank Citi.
Refining weakness was obvious, says the US bank, given the comments from its peers but was compounded in BP’s case by high turnaround activity.
The second weakness was a revaluation of inventory values from the Bunge acquisition while thirdly there were forex losses.
As a consequence, Citi has cut its fourth-quarter net income forecast to US$1.4 billion from US$2.3 billion but left its longer-term forecasts unchanged.
“One positive from the statement is that net debt does not look to have built as much as we had anticipated through the Bunge and LightSource acquisitions, helped by higher divestment proceeds and implicitly, we think, a material working capital release.”
Shares today were up 0.8% at 423.6p.