BP’s profits hit their highest in eight years in 2021, lifted by soaring gas and oil prices, as the company boosted share repurchases and accelerated plans to cut emissions with increased spending on low carbon energy, reads an official press release.
A working strategy
BP’s rebound to an annual profit of $12.85 billion (€11.27 billion) after a large loss in 2020, is likely to add to calls in Britain for higher taxes on energy producers to help reduce consumers’ energy bills.
“It’s all about one thing, one thing only – delivering the strategy that we laid out. That’s working,” chief executive Bernard Looney told Reuters.
Largest profit recorded
In the fourth quarter of 2021, BP’s underlying replacement cost profit, the company’s definition of net earnings, reached $4.1 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations for a $3.93 billion profit. That was the largest profit BP recorded since early 2013.
BP shares were up 1.4 per cent in early trading, before slipping back to end the day close to 1.9 per cent weaker.
The results were supported by higher oil and gas prices and production, partly offset by weaker oil trading results and the impact of higher energy costs on operations such as refining, the company said.
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Source: bp
