BP recorded a significant profit in the first quarter of 2021, after a loss of billions a year earlier. Profit in the first quarter was 4.7 billion dollars. That was much better than the loss of $ 4.4 billion in the first quarter a year earlier. In the fourth quarter of 2020, BP earned $ 1.4 billion.
Underlying earnings were 2.6 billion dollars compared to 115 million dollars a quarter earlier and 791 million euros a year earlier.
BP’s operating cash flow was $ 6.1 billion last quarter, a significant improvement from $ 2.7 billion in the previous quarter. In the first three months of 2020, this was as low as 952 million dollars.
Net debt fell to $ 33.3 billion at the end of the quarter. This was 38.9 billion dollars by the end of 2020. At the beginning of this month, BP announced that it was able to reduce its debt to $ 35 billion, thanks to a smoother than expected component sales and a very strong result in the first reporting period of this year.
The company’s goal is to sell 25 billion dollars in parts by 2025. Agreements have now been made for almost 15 billion dollars and about 10 billion dollars has now been received by BP.
BP plans to distribute at least 60 percent of the surplus cash flow to the shareholder in the form of a purchase of its own shares, on condition that the creditworthiness is not compromised, it stated earlier this month. This message was repeated on Tuesday.
In the second quarter, BP plans to buy in approximately $ 500 million of its own shares to reduce dilution due to employee benefits.
BP expects oil demand to recover in 2021, and gas demand will even exceed 2019 levels, the company believes. BP is also positive about the refining margins.
