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British energy company BP on Tuesday reported a record net profit of $27.6 billion for full-year 2022 and hiked its dividends by 10% as it joined other international oil companies in posting bumper earnings as the Russia-Ukraine conflict drove energy prices higher.
Profit for Q4 was $4.8 billion compared with $4.06 billion in the year-ago period and with $8.2 billion for the previous quarter.
The 10% increase in dividend per ordinary share for fourth quarter represents a 21% growth from 4Q-2022, BP said in a statement.
In another bonanza for its shareholders, the oil major promised further buybacks of $2.75 billion taking the total buybacks in 2022 of $11.25 billion.
Citi Research said BP's adjusted net income of $4.8 billion is broadly "in-line with market expectations, although apparently untouched by the significant gas trading gains that helped some of BP’s peers this quarter."
BP also pledged to boost annual spending in its transition growth engines (TGEs) by $8 billion through 2030 with about half going into bioenergy, and in convenience and EV charging; and the other half in hydrogen and renewables & power.
It also aims to increase investment into oil and gas projects, again by an average of up to $1 billion a year, or up to a cumulative $8 billion to 2030.
BP's CEO Bernard Looney said the investment in oil & gas was needed to make sure the transition is an orderly one. "We have high-quality options throughout our portfolio, allowing us to choose only the best. We will prioritise projects where we can deliver quickly, at low cost, using our existing infrastructure, allowing us to minimise additional emissions and maximise both value and our contribution to energy security and affordability.”
(Writing by Brinda Darasha; editing by Seban Scaria)
