BP accelerated share buyback program and increased dividends – Kommersant

British BP published quarterly and annual reports and announced an acceleration of its share repurchase program and increased dividends. Annual profit was $15.2 billion, while BP had a loss of $2.5 billion a year earlier. Net debt fell from $21.4 billion to $20.9 billion. Adjusted EBITDA fell from $60.7 billion to $43 .7 billion. At the same time, the adjusted profit figure minus changes in the valuation of product inventories, which replaces net profit in reporting, fell by more than half – from $27.7 billion to $13.8 billion.

New BP CEO Murray Auchincloss inaugurated in mid-January, called 2023 a year of “strong operating performance with a real strengthening of position in achieving performance goals across all areas of the business.” The head of the company confirmed the previously chosen strategy of reducing oil production by 25% compared to the 2019 level – by 2030 it should be 2 million barrels per day – and developing the renewable energy business.

Before the end of the first quarter, BP intends to complete a $1.75 billion share buyback and buy back $3.5 billion worth of shares in the first half of the year. In general, the company plans to purchase $14 billion worth of shares from shareholders in 2024–2025. In addition, the company is increasing by 10% dividend, to $0.727, for the fourth quarter of 2023. BP shares react positively to the company’s earnings and are up almost 6% on the London Stock Exchange.

Alena Miklashevskaya