London (AFP) – British oil giant BP announced Tuesday an 86 percent slide in annual net profit, hit by lower crude prices and a huge write-down linked to its green energy transition. Profit after tax dropped to $55 million last year from $381 million a year earlier, BP said in a statement.
The results come ahead of Meg O’Neill taking over as BP’s chief executive in April, becoming the first woman to lead an oil major. BP said the annual results included an impairment totalling around $4 billion linked to its “transition businesses in the gas and low carbon energy segment.” It added that its annual performance was “delivered against a weaker oil price environment.” Underlying earnings, which strip out some energy price movements and one-off charges, fell 16 percent to $7.5 billion last year.
Energy prices have been under pressure on concerns that US President Donald Trump’s tariffs will crimp economic growth. They dropped further last year as a result of higher output by OPEC+ nations and hopes of an end to the war in Ukraine, as Russia remains a major energy producer. More recently, prices have risen as Trump ramped up military threats against Iran, but have since cooled on easing tensions between Washington and Tehran. The international oil price benchmark, Brent North Sea crude, was steady Tuesday at $69 per barrel.
– New leadership –
BP’s boardroom shakeup at the end of last year came with the company pivoting back to its more profitable oil and gas business, slashing clean energy investment after shelving targets on reducing carbon emissions. Carol Howle has served as interim CEO since Murray Auchincloss unexpectedly stepped down in December.
“We look forward to Meg O’Neill joining as CEO in April as we accelerate our progress to build a simpler, stronger and more valuable BP for the future,” Howle said in Tuesday’s statement. “We can and will do better for our shareholders,” she added as the group suspended share buybacks. That news hit BP’s share price, which shed five percent in morning trading in London. Weighing on the stock was also a poor fourth quarter, which showed net losses increasing 75 percent to $3.4 billion.
“A move to cancel buybacks gives the incoming CEO a clean slate when she takes over,” said Neil Wilson, an investor strategist at Saxo. “It would also help it fulfill its commitment to slash debt, which remains stubbornly high above $22 billion, hardly moving at all last year,” he added. O’Neill, an American who spent 23 years working for ExxonMobil, is the first external candidate to be appointed CEO of BP in the group’s 116-year history. She has led Australian group Woodside Energy since April 2021.
BP, which is not alone among peers in scaling back climate targets, agreed in December to sell a majority stake in its Castrol lubricants business to US investment firm Stonepeak for $6 billion, as it seeks to cut debt. British rival Shell last week said its net profit rose 11 percent last year as higher volumes and lower costs helped to offset falling oil and gas prices. Profit after tax climbed to $17.84 billion in 2025 from $16.1 billion a year earlier.
© 2024 AFP
