BP: Profits double to £23bn as soaring oil and gas prices continue to boost its bottom line
BP is the latest energy giant to unveil spectacular earnings, reporting full-year underlying profits of £23bn ($27.7bn), cashing in on soaring oil and gas prices fuelled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This is more than double last year’s takings of £10.6bn ($12.8bn), in line with resurgent earnings across the energy industry.
The fossil fuel titan’s bumper profits were powered by another quarter of booming trading, with BP capping off the year with a three-month earnings window of just under £9bn ($10.8bn)
Its quarterly results have dipped as oil and gas prices eased towards the end of the year, but profits remain historically elevated with the energy giant making the most of an LNG boom.
The company also posted a technical loss of £2.1bn ($2.49bn) when factoring in its heavy Russian asset write-down following the country’s invasion of Ukraine and the company’s subsequent exodus.
Overall, full-year revenues climbed to £200.2bn ($241.4bn), a huge uptick on the previous year’s £131.1bn ($157.7bn)- reflecting a vast post-pandemic turnaround for the energy sector.
Its headline results compare favourably with its rivals, including Shell, which reported £32,2bn full-year profits, including £7.9bn in its fourth quarter.
These hefty sums will soon be felt in shareholders’ pockets with BP paying out dividends of £3.62bn ($4.36bn) for the full year, including committing a further £900m ($1.09bn) in the fourth quarter.
Its latest success will also put the North Sea industry under increasing pressure, with Labour calling for investment relief to be scrapped from the windfall tax and for it to be backdated to January 2022.
The tax has already been toughened under Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, with BP forking out £880m ($1.06bn) towards the Energy Profits Levy in the fourth quarter and £1.52bn for the full year ($1.83bn).
More to follow…