BP Profits Down as Chief Denies Merger with Shell

BP's new CEO has denied recent rumours of a merger with oil rival Royal Dutch Shell as the company revealed 'disappointing' second quarter results for this year.

Speaking yesterday, CEO Tony Hayward said: "On the matter of mergers with Shell, I can confirm there is no substance to the speculation."

Restoring operational performance would restore financial performance for the company, he added.

BP's second quarter replacement cost profit for 2007 was $6,087m, compared with $6,118m last year, a decrease of 1%, while replacement cost profit fell by 8% from $11,383m to $10,448m.

"The absolute numbers are large but on most key measures our competitive performance in the first half was disappointing", Hayward says.

By staff writer