British Petroleum giant bp After a recent strategic reset and a decline in crude oil prices, net profit on Tuesday was slightly weaker than expected first-quarter net profit.

The troubled oil and gas specializes in posting potential alternative cost profits to be used as a proxy for net profits, which was $1.38 billion in the first three months of the year. This missed the $1.6 billion expected by analysts, according to consensus compiled by LSEG.

BP's net profit reached $2.7 billion, $1.2 billion in the last three months of 2024.

Less than two months after the announcement of a strategy reset, the energy profession faces new pressure from radical investors.

To rebuild investor confidence, BP committed in February to cut renewable spending and increase annual spending on its core oil and gas operations.

BP CEO Murray Auchincloss told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" Tuesday that the company "had a great start" when delivering its strategic reset.

“We had a great operational quarter. We operated the most efficient upstream in history. The refinery in the first quarter had the best refinery in 24 years. We found six consecutive explorations, which was really unusual and we started three major projects,” Auchincloss said.

In the first quarter, BP announced a dividend of 8 cents per share and a share buyback of $750 million.

Net debt rose to $26.97 billion during the January-March period, up from $22.99 billion at the end of the fourth quarter. Compared to the last three months of last year, BP had previously warned that upstream output was lower and net debt was higher in the first quarter.

BP's share price fell 2.8% around London time, cutting some earlier losses.

BP's green strategy turnaround doesn't seem to be enough distance yet, rather than activist investor Elliott Management, etc., which opened up its stake in a London-listed company last week with more than 5%.

According to LSEG data, the disclosure puts U.S. hedge fund BP second only to the world's largest asset manager BlackRock.

Elliott reportedly held a position in the oil and gas company in February, which drove the stock price rally in anticipation that its participation might put pressure on it to move BP to its oil and gas business.

Asked if the company is under pressure from companies like Elliott, BP's Auchincloss declined to comment on interactions with investors, surpassing plans announced in the hub in February.

It is worth noting that BP suffered shareholder rebellion at its annual general meeting earlier this month. Nearly a quarter (24.3%) of investors voted against the re-election of outgoing chairman Helge Lund, a symbolic result that reflects the deep frustration of the company's shareholders.

Mark van Baal, founder of Dutch radical investors, told CNBC last week that he hopes the shareholder uprising means Amanda Blanc leads the process to find Lund’s successor, who will look for a new chair, who is the new chairman of “climate capacity” and “will not respond so quickly to short-term activists.”

Lund is expected to resign from next year.

BP's poor performance compared to industry peers such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Shell have pushed the energy major to the spotlight. But energy analysts question whether the most likely suitors will rise.

BP's Auchincloss said on Tuesday that he would not speculate whether the company was a target for takeover, but confirmed that the oil major did not require any protection from the UK government.

"I'm going to say that we're a strong independent company and we've already had leading growth. If we can achieve growth in the leadership field and the first quarter is a great example, then I don't have to worry. I think we'll do a great job," Auchincloss said.

Oil prices have fallen in recent months. International benchmark Brent crude oil futures and June delivery traded at $65.19 a barrel on Tuesday morning, meetings fell more than 1%. This was a low of around $84 a barrel a year ago.

Asked if the weaker price of crude oil could put some of the company’s reset plans at risk, Auchincloss said: “Not really. We think the product balance we think brings us revenue. So, so are oil, gas and refined products.”

- CNBC's Ruxandra iordache contributed to this report.