Tokyo Gas expects its net profit to double in FY26
Tokyo Gas, Japan's largest city gas provider, said that it aims to double its net profits in 2026 and has plans to expand into the United States. The plan was released in a mid-term management report on Wednesday. The company expects its net profit to increase to 131 billion Japanese yen ($871million) for the fiscal year 2025-26, which starts on April 1. This is up from 72 billion yen in the current year that ended this March. The company expects to increase its dividend by 10 yen, or 80 yen a share, in the current fiscal. The company also said it plans to buy back shares up to 120 billion Japanese yen during the first half fiscal year 2026.
Sources say that Elliott met with BP investors in order to discuss further changes.
Two shareholders have confirmed that Elliott Management, an activist investor in BP, has met with several of the company's largest shareholders to form a consensus on more changes. These could include cost reductions and a possible leadership reshuffle. BP's stock has performed worse than rivals Shell, Exxon and Shell in the past five years. Investors have blamed this in part on 2020 plan of the company to focus on its renewable business and cut oil and gas production. After watering down this plan, BP accelerated the pivot back to hydrocarbons with a new strategy last month. Elliott and the two shareholders who attended separate meetings said they both wanted deeper changes.
Follow This, a BP activist investor, urges voting against Chair Lund on energy transition
BP activist investor Follow This intends to ask shareholders at the 17th April shareholder meeting to vote against Helge Lund being reappointed, claiming he had a duty to give investors a voice on the scrapping of energy transition targets. In a February strategy overhaul, CEO Murray Auchincloss announced that BP would cut spending on renewables while increasing investment in oil and natural gas. This was a revamp of the 2020 strategy, which had predicted a 40% reduction in its oil and natural gas output by 2030. The main criticism of Follow This is that the shareholders haven't been given a chance to vote directly on the new strategic direction.
Financial Times reports that Elliott has a $5 billion stake in BP.
The Financial Times reported that Elliott Management, an activist investor, has revealed a nearly 5% stake in BP. This makes it the third largest shareholder of the oil company, citing sources close to the issue. The FT reported that Elliott was trying to get the British oil company, British Petroleum to reduce spending on renewables as well as make large divestments. BP shares dropped 1.3% to 462.5p after the FT article. A BP spokesperson refused to comment. Elliott Management didn't immediately respond to our request for a comment. Murray Auchincloss, the CEO of BP, is on a quest to revive BP’s performance and increase profits.
BP promises fundamental reset as Q4 profit hit four-year low
BP announced a quarterly profit of $1.1 billion on Tuesday. This was lower than expected, and the lowest since 2004. The company also promised to reset its strategic direction after it became known that Elliott Management, an investor, had acquired a stake. BP has experienced a decline of earnings for the entire year 2024. This follows two years of record earnings, when energy prices stabilized and global oil demand weakened. But BP is underperforming its peers, and CEO Murray Auchincloss has been put under pressure to bring about change. The share price of 467.90 pence was up 0.6%, or about flat.
BP shares are at their highest level since August following Elliott's stake increase
In early trading on Monday, shares of oil giant BP rose 7%, reaching their highest level since August, following reports that activist investor Elliott Management acquired a stake in the firm, citing a reliable source. By 823 GMT the shares had risen 7.3% to 464.75pence, their largest daily gain since Febuary 2023. Shell shares dropped by nearly 4% and ExxonMobil rose 8%. Murray Auchincloss, BP's CEO, has tried to restore investor faith in the company strategy since his predecessor Bernard Looney resigned in September 2023 due to failing to disclose employee relationships. Bloomberg News, which reported on the matter earlier Saturday, said that Elliott, a U.S.
Tokyo Gas president: Asset sales will boost capital efficiency by Tokyo Gas
Tokyo Gas wants to increase capital efficiency through the sale of underperforming assets including real estate. This was announced by its president on Thursday following disclosures that activist investor Elliott Management had invested 5% in Tokyo Gas. Elliott took a 5.03% share in Tokyo Gas earlier this month. The company is trying to get Japan's largest city gas provider to increase shareholder value. Tokyo Gas President Shinichi Sasayama declined to comment at a press conference for a business update on the details of the company’s dialogue with Elliott.
Financial Times - Nov. 12
These are the most popular stories from the Financial Times. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports. Companies will admit that the UK made a legal mistake in issuing oil and gas licenses. Shell, Ithaca, and Equinor, a Norwegian oil company, are all set to admit that the UK government committed a mistake by granting them licenses for two new major offshore developments. This is the beginning of an important case for future fossil-fuel projects. Ken Griffin's Citadel hedge fund has hired Nabeel Bhanji…
Seadrill CEO: Seadrill is looking to acquire assets and engage in M&A.
Seadrill, an offshore drilling contractor, is looking to merge with other companies or buy more assets. John Fredriksen, a Norwegian billionaire, lost control of his company, which was once the largest drilling company in the world by market capital, to creditors after two debt restructurings. Seadrill, a New York-listed company that is now leaner and smaller, wants to purchase distressed assets or players who have "distressed" balance sheets. CEO Simon Johnson said this at an investor conference held in Norway. He said, "We won't do anything crazy. We have proven our discipline." The amount of cash on the balance sheet that the company has…
Japan's Seven & i to Buy Marathon Petroleum's Speedway Gas Stations for $21B
The Japanese owner of 7-Eleven convenience stores has agreed to buy Marathon Petroleum Corp's Speedway gas stations for $21 billion, brushing aside coronavirus concerns to return to the table five months after initially balking at the deal.The acquisition is one of the biggest this year, suggesting the pandemic, while forcing many companies to focus on protecting balance sheets instead of expansion, has not killed off global dealmaking altogether.The move will help Seven & i Holdings Co Ltd shift focus beyond Japan, where its stores and supermarkets face a shrinking population…
New CEO for Marathon After Hedge Fund Campaign
Marathon Petroleum Corp chief Gary Heminger will leave the company next year after almost a decade in charge, launching sweeping changes demanded by investors at the biggest U.S. refiner including the spinoff of its Speedway retail arm.The departure is a victory for activists Elliott Management, DE Shaw and others who had sought the changes following the 2018 acquisition of rival Andeavor.That $23 billion deal gave Marathon a coast-to-coast refining network but delivered results that disappointed and its shares fell to a two-year low this year.Marathon said Chief Executive Officer Heminger would retire next year when his current term ends.
BP Pays $10.5 bln for BHP Shale Assets
BP Plc has agreed to buy U.S. shale oil and gas assets from global miner BHP Billiton for $10.5 billion, expanding the British oil major's footprint in some of the nation's most productive oil basins in its biggest deal in nearly 20 years.The acquisition of about 500,000 producing acres marks a turning point for BP since the Deepwater Horizon rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, for which the company is still paying off more than $65 billion in penalties and clean-up costs."This is a transformational acquisition for our (onshore U.S.) business…
Sempra Energy to Shed U.S. Storage, Renewable Assets
U.S. utility Sempra Energy said on Thursday it plans to sell some of its natural gas storage and renewable energy assets and expects to record a charge between $1.47 billion and $1.55 billion during the second quarter. Earlier this month, activist investors Elliott Management and Bluescape Resources Co, who have a combined stake of 4.9 percent in Sempra, pushed for a board shakeup and strategic review at the company. The activist investors presented the company with a plan to sell its international business lines and split into two companies through a tax-free spinoff - one focused on utilities and the other on natural gas infrastructure.
Hess Warns Focus on Returns Now Will Hurt US Shale Long-term
Investor pressure on oil producers to focus more attention on shareholder returns and less on output will drive down vital industry investment in the long term, a leading U.S. shale executive said on Thursday.Shareholders have been pushing for more dividends and buybacks from U.S. shale companies, whose heavy investment in production has helped the United States overtake Saudi Arabia to become the world's second biggest oil producer after Russia."Investor sentiment in the last year has really, markedly changed. I'd say it's gone from, 'drill, baby, drill…
Elliott Management Supports Hess Buyback
Elliott Management pulled back from efforts to call for substantial changes at oil company Hess Corp on Thursday on the eve of the deadline to nominate directors for the company's board. Elliott said it supported Hess's $1 billion share buyback program announced earlier Thursday and the company's planned operating review. Elliott, the activist hedge fund led by billionaire Paul Singer, previously called for changes at Hess Corp in a heated 2013 proxy fight. At that time Hess conceded to an agreement that added three Elliott appointees to the board. Reporting By Jessica Resnick-Ault
Bankrupt Breitburn Rebuffs $1.8 bln Bid
U.S. oil and gas producer Breitburn Energy Partners LP, which has been in bankruptcy since 2016, does not plan to pursue an unsolicited $1.8 billion cash offer from Lime Rock Resources, according to court filings. The offer from Houston-based Lime Rock, which invests in oil-and-gas properties, surfaced last month as Breitburn was awaiting a ruling on its bankruptcy reorganization plan. The confirmation hearing ended in January after a bitter valuation battle between Breitburn and its shareholders who argued it undervalued the company. In a filing with U.S.
Hess Posts 13th Straight Quarterly Loss; Shares Dive
U.S. oil and gas producer Hess Corp posted its 13th straight quarterly loss on Monday as ballooning expenses offset rising crude prices, sending shares down nearly 5 percent. Hess last month began cutting roughly 13 percent of its workforce and streamlining operations, steps it said should help it start to save $150 million annually. For the fourth quarter, Hess posted a loss of $2.68 billion, or $8.57 per share, compared with a loss of $4.89 billion, or $15.65 per share, in the year-ago period. The year-earlier quarter included a $3.75 billion charge on deferred tax assets. Excluding one-time items, Hess lost $1.01 per share in the fourth quarter.
Hess Corp Posts Q4 Loss on Rising Costs
Hess Corp posted its 13th straight quarterly loss on Monday as the oil and gas producer struggled to rein in expenses. The company's shares were down 2.7 percent at $46.51 in light premarket trading. Hess has slashed jobs and sold assets as it grapples with spiraling costs and project setbacks at a time when other producers focus on capital returns in a higher oil price environment. The company, which is locked in a battle with activist investor Elliott Management Corp, said total costs and expenses surged 22 percent to $3.78 billion in the reported quarter. Total revenue fell 6.5 percent to $1.30 billion in the quarter ended Dec.
BHP Profit Surges, but Looks to Exit U.S. Shale
Underlying net profit jumps to $6.7 bln from $1.2 bln. BHP Billiton, the world's largest miner, reported a surge in underlying full-year profits on Tuesday and said it would exit its underperforming U.S. shale oil and gas business, pleasing disgruntled shareholders who had called for a sale. The Anglo-Australian mining giant, which is under pressure from U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management to rethink its investment in oil and boost shareholder returns, was buoyed by a recovery in industrial commodities markets. It generated more cash than even in some years of the mining boom, slashed net debt by nearly $10 billion to $16.3 billion and tripled its final dividend to $0.43 a share.
Sempra Energy to buy Oncor for $9.45 bln
Sempra Energy said it will buy Oncor for $9.45 billion in cash after Energy Future Holdings Corp, which indirectly owns Oncor, abandoned a deal to sell the power transmission company to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. San Diego-based Sempra expects to own about 60 percent of a reorganized Energy Future after the transaction that is valued at $18.8 billion, including Dallas-based Oncor's debt, it said late on Sunday. The development represents a rare blow for Buffett, who avoids bidding wars for companies and had swooped in two months ago to buy Oncor after two previous attempts by Energy Future to sell it were blocked by Texas regulators.
