WORLD
BP profit falls 91% as oil price cuts put thousands of jobs at risk
Baku, February 2, AZERTAC
BP has said its fourth quarter earnings were down 91 per cent on a year earlier after the oil price fell off a cliff in the last 18 months, according to The Independent.
Fourth quarter profit adjusted for one-time items and inventory changes totalled $196 million in 2015, compared to $2.24 billion a year earlier.
Underlying profits for the year came in down 51 per cent at $5.9 billion, compared to $12.1 billion for 2014.
Analysts were expecting profits of $814.7 million. The oil price fell from $77 a barrel in the fourth quarter of 2014 to $44 a barrel by the same quarter last year.
Bob Dudley, BP group chief executive, commented: “We are continuing to move rapidly to adapt and rebalance BP for the changing environment.
BP said it would maintain its dividend payout of 10 cents per share for the quarter, payable in March.
Thousands of jobs will go over the next two years as the company tries to cut costs. BP said it would cut staff by up to 4,000 during 2016 and up to 3,000 by the end of 2017.