BP’s profits of $5 billion (£4bn) had been stronger-than-expected outcomes for the primary quarter of 2023.
These are a discount on the $6.2bn from the identical interval final 12 months, however in any other case are one of the best outcomes BP has reported in not less than a decade.
They have sparked renewed requires the Government to make sure oil corporations are hit with what Labour chief Sir Keir Starmer known as a “proper” windfall tax.
“It shows that these really huge profits are continuing. This isn’t the first but £4 billion… that’s a huge amount of money,” he advised BBC Breakfast.
“And it’s always worth bearing in mind that, of course, we want BP and others to make profits so they can invest.
“But these are profits they didn’t expect to make. These are profits over and above because the world price of energy is so high.”
Trades Union Congress (TUC) basic secretary Paul Nowak mentioned oil and gasoline corporations had been treating the British public “like cash machines”. Most commerce unions within the UK belong to the TUC.
He mentioned: “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.”
So, who owns the UK’s greatest vitality corporations, and the way a lot profit are they making?
Here’s all the things you'll want to know.
British Gas is owned by the corporate Centrica, which is the most important home gasoline provider within the UK, and can also be one of many largest electrical energy suppliers.
It was beforehand publically owned however in December 1986 the prime minister on the time, Margaret Thatcher, privatised it.
Centrica owns British Gas and different vitality corporations, together with Ireland’s Bord Gais Energy. In February, it reported a file working revenue of £3.3bn final 12 months.
British Petroleum, higher generally known as BP, is a British firm based in 1909.
Its prime 5 shareholders are State Street, BlackRock, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Fisher Investments, and Menora Mivtachim.
With operations in almost 80 nations, BP introduced it made a revenue of $5bn (£4bn) within the first three months of 2023.
Shell is a British-Dutch-owned firm, headquartered within the Netherlands, and is integrated within the UK. The firm, which first offered antiques and seashells, was expanded by the Samuels brothers within the Eighties into an oil-exporting enterprise.
The brothers achieved a revolution within the transport of oil through the use of a tanker known as the Murex throughout the Suez Canal to switch oil.
Shell provided the British Army with the vast majority of its gas through the First World War and made all of its ships — together with the Murex — accessible to the British Admiralty.
Wael Sawan turned the corporate’s CEO in January. He changed Ben van Beurden, who had been within the position since January 1, 2014.
In Sawan’s earlier position as the pinnacle of Shell’s built-in gasoline and renewables division, he oversaw Shell’s development into low-carbon energies, in addition to its large gasoline enterprise.
Shell reported a file $40bn (£32.5bn) revenue in 2022. This capped a turbulent 12 months through which an increase in vitality costs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine allowed it to supply shareholders with unheard-of earnings.
Scottish Power is owned by the Spanish utility agency Iberdrola. The firm was fashioned in 1990, in preparation for the privatisation of Scotland’s vitality provide the 12 months after, according to Berkshire Live.
In October 2021, Scottish Power reported a 39 per cent decline in underlying earnings, at its division chargeable for offering vitality to home prospects. It cited rising wholesale prices, in addition to low wind volumes, as the important thing causes for this.
Southern Water provides water and sewerage companies to prospects throughout the south of England. It loses 88.1 million litres of water per day from the pipes in its community.
Its shareholders took house £622 million in revenue between 2013 and 2017. In 2021, Southern Water was sentenced to pay £90m in fines for widespread air pollution after pleading responsible to six,971 unpermitted sewage discharges, according to Gov.uk.
EDF Energy is owned by the French vitality provider Électricité de France (EDF), which is itself owned by the French authorities.
It made a revenue of £1.12bn in 2022 within the UK, following a lack of £21m within the earlier 12 months.
Luc Remont, chairman and chief govt officer of EDF, mentioned: “The 2022 results were significantly affected by the decline in our electricity output, and also by exceptional regulatory measures introduced in France in difficult market conditions.
“Despite all the challenges, EDF actively focused on service and support for all its residential and business customers, and made every endeavour to ensure the best generation fleet availability for the winter period.”
According to its personal figures, it posted a lack of £154m in 2020.
E.ON is owned by E.ON SE, an electrical energy provider based mostly in Essen, Germany. The firm was fashioned in 1989 and was initially generally known as Powergen, earlier than it was privatised within the Nineteen Nineties.
The firm additionally owns Npower, which it acquired in December 2018, and was beforehand owned by German multinational vitality agency RWE.
In November 2021, its guardian firm reported a nine-month adjustment to earnings earlier than curiosity and tax, of €3.93bn (£3.29bn), whereas its buyer options arm greater than doubled its earnings to €910m (£810.4m).
SSE’s retail enterprise, which supplies vitality to family prospects, was offered to OVO Energy in January 2020.
OVO Energy reported that it had considerably lowered its losses in 2020 to £7 million — down from £103m the earlier 12 months. The firm additionally reported a major improve in revenues, from £1.5bn to £4.5bn.
Octopus Energy is owned by Octopus Group, the fund-management firm which based the vitality agency in 2015. Octopus Group has pursuits in enterprise capital, funding administration, and actual property, in addition to the vitality sector.
In January, Octopus Energy introduced an working lack of almost £85m in 2021, after reporting a lack of virtually £50m in 2020, in response to Reuters. However, the agency’s energy-supply revenues elevated to £1.9bn from £1.2bn the earlier 12 months.
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