BP reported a 14% increase in profits for its Castrol Lubricants business in the first quarter, citing higher margins, while Luberef posted a 46% drop in net profit, due to a fall in base oil crack margins.
Castrol
BP reported that its Castrol unit posted an underlying cost profit before interest and tax of $184 million in the first quarter, improving from $161 million in the same quarter last year. That was primarily due to higher margins, partly offset by adverse foreign exchange impacts, BP said in its first-quarter stock exchange announcement.
Capital expenditure for the Castrol unit fell 37% to $43 million.
Overall, BP’s profit tumbled to $2.3 billion in the quarter, a 72% drop from $8.2 billion in the same period in 2023.
Luberef
Luberef, formally known as Saudi Aramco Base Oil Co. – reported net profit of 239 million riyals (U.S. $64 million) for the first quarter, falling from 445.7 million riyals. In its earnings report, the company attributed the decrease to a decline in base oil crack margins.
Operating profit for the quarter also dropped, by 48%, to 246.1 million riyals. Sales revenue for the quarter rose 22% to 2.2 billion riyals, compared to 1.8 billion riyals.