Norwegian oil firm Aker BP, partly owned by BP, on Wednesday reported a bigger-than-expected decline in third-quarter operating profit, but said its full-year output would be in the upper-half of its forecast.
The group's profit before interest and tax fell to $1.70 billion for July-September, from $2.62 billion a year earlier, weighed down by lower prices and higher goodwill impairments.
Analysts had expected profit before interest and tax of $1.89 billion in company-compiled consensus.
The company reported output of 414,700 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) in the third-quarter, down from 449,800 boed a year earlier, due to planned maintenance at several fields. The production is expected to recover in the fourth quarter, Aker BP said.
The company raised its full-year output forecast to 430,000-440,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day from a previous plan of 420,000-440,000, and cut its production cost outlook to $6.5 per boe from $7.
"We are pleased to report another quarter of high production efficiency, supported by smooth execution of our maintenance program," Aker BP CEO Karl Johnny Hersvik said in a statement.
"This performance has allowed us to increase our production guidance for 2024 and reinforces our position as an industry leader in both low costs and low emissions," he added.
The group's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) - a measure that excludes impairments - stood at $2.61 billion, down from $3.17 billion a year prior, but was ahead of analysts' forecast of $2.48 billion
Adjusting for factors such as the timing of oil and gas sales, the underlying EBITDA was virtually in line with expectations, DNB Markets said in a note.
Aker BP maintained a dividend of $0.60 per share for the third quarter.
(Reuters - Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis; Editing by Terje Solsvik and Sonia Cheema)
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