BP Struggles, Drugmakers See Greater Demand for Certain Medicines Amid Pandemic: Earnings at a Glance -- Earnings at a Glance
April 28 2020 - 1:23PM
Dow Jones News
BP PLC said its debt rose sharply and warned of falling
production and a worsening outlook for refining margins, offering a
first look at how the new coronavirus pandemic is straining the
balance sheets of the world's largest oil companies.
BP's earnings fell in the first quarter, reflecting a
challenging commodity environment exacerbated by declining oil
prices and weak demand. The London-based energy giant swung to a
replacement cost loss -- a metric similar to the net income figure
that U.S. oil companies report -- of $628 million for the three
months ended March 31 from a profit of $2.10 billion for the
year-earlier period.
Drugmakers saw greater demand for certain medicines but lost
ground in other areas.
Pfizer Inc. said its sales fell for the latest quarter as it saw
gains in its patent-protected medicines but had a decline in its
Upjohn unit, while the rate of new prescriptions and vaccination
slowed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Novartis AG saw medicine stockpiling boost its sales and profits
in the first quarter, offsetting disruption from the virus.
Merck & Co. Inc. saw sales and profit rose in the first
quarter, but the drugmaker lowered its revenue and earnings
forecast for the year due to the pandemic, with most of the
negative effects expected in the second quarter.
More global banks took a hit, with HSBC Holdings PLC tucked away
more provisions against losses and Banco Santander SA took a 1.6
billion-euro ($1.73 billion) charge related to the coronavirus
outbreak.
UBS Group AG, on the other hand, saw its profit rise sharply in
the first quarter as its focus on lending to the world's wealthy
and to Swiss customers cushioned it from the blow felt by other
global lenders.
Other earnings reported Tuesday, at a glance:
3M Co.: The maker of coveted N95 face masks used by workers
treating coronavirus patients said sales grew in its medical
business while a deepening industrial downturn is weighing on its
business overall.
ABB Ltd.: The Swiss engineering company reported a fall in net
profit for the first quarter, and it warned that the pandemic will
continue to weigh on its results in the second quarter.
Aluminum Corp. of China: The Chinese company said its
first-quarter net profit plunged 93% as government efforts to curb
the coronavirus's spread slashed demand for its leading
products.
ANA Holdings Inc.: The airline said its full-year net profit
fell 75% as it canceled a significant number of international and
domestic flights due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Caterpillar Inc.: The U.S. maker of construction equipment
reported a smaller first-quarter profit as dealers slowed growth of
their construction-equipment inventory during the pandemic.
China Communications Construction Co.: The company said
first-quarter net profit fell 40% from a year earlier, as growth in
its principal business slowed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
D.R. Horton Inc.: The U.S. home builder said profit and sales
rose in the latest quarter, but home orders were slowing and
cancellations were growing due to the pandemic.
Guangzhou Automobile Group Co.: The Chinese car maker's
first-quarter net profit plummeted 96% from a year earlier, as the
coronavirus pandemic dealt a severe blow to the company's sales in
the quarter.
Harley-Davidson Inc.: Demand for the company's motorcycles fell
off in the first quarter as the coronavirus spread, but
Harley-Davidson has restarted some manufacturing as governments
look to reopen economies.
IndusInd Bank Ltd.: The Indian lender's fourth-quarter net
profit fell 12% from a year earlier, weighed by provisions that
rose in part to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co.: The dairy-product
maker said first-quarter net profit slumped 50% from a year
earlier, as both sales and profitability took a hit from the
coronavirus pandemic.
LG Chem Ltd.: The South Korean company's first-quarter net
profit fell 83% as its petrochemical segment was hit by lower oil
prices and weaker demand in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
PepsiCo Inc.: The beverage giant posted higher sales for the
first quarter of the year but withdrew its full-year guidance as it
faces uncertainty amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Polaris Inc.: The powersports company reported a loss for the
first quarter as demand dropped amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Sirius XM Holdings Inc.: The satellite-radio company's revenue
and earnings rose more than expected in its first quarter, but it
said the Covid-19 pandemic is expected to hurt subscriber
revenue.
Southwest Airlines Co.: The largest U.S. domestic carrier
expects the lack of demand for air travel to linger for some time,
as the pandemic continues to keep prospective fliers at home.
Southwest reported a $94 million loss for the first quarter -- its
first since 2011 -- and said revenue fell nearly 18% after bookings
began to drop off in late February.
United Parcel Service Inc.: The delivery company said it expects
capital expenditures to be $1 billion less than previous estimates
and it is suspending stock buybacks for the year, citing
significant headwinds from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Net income fell to $965 million, or $1.11 a share, for the first
quarter, while revenue rose 5.1%.
Waters Corp.: The maker of laboratory instruments and software
said its profit and sales for the first quarter fell, mostly due to
the coronavirus containment measures in China.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 28, 2020 13:08 ET (17:08 GMT)
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