Profits anger consumers
Article Date: Nov 03 2008These days, while some big companies are scandalising public and politicians alike by putting out the begging bowl, others are provoking outrage by making too much money. Thus, BP’s £5.6 billion net profit for the third quarter has drawn a chorus of protest and demands for the benefits of the oil giant’s productivity drive and recent crude oil price falls to be passed on to the motorist.
Strong oil prices played a key role, though BP’s underlying production of oil and gas was five per cent up. Now that crude prices have plunged from $147 to less than $63 a barrel, chief executive Tony Hayward is talking of ‘a period of softness’ in the oil price as a result of the global economic downturn.
Recession fears, fuelled by reports of the sharpest contraction in US oil demand for two decades, have depressed sentiment further across the commodities spectrum. Short sellers covering their positions have provided temporary up-ticks in base metals, but the trend looks to be downward.
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