British oil giant BP posted net earnings of $3.32 billion for the July-September quarter of 2021, beating analysts’ expectations for $3.06 billion. It was also higher than $86 million in profit in the same period in 2022 and $2.8 billion in the second quarter. The solid results mainly were attributed to “very strong trading,” which helped BP hedge against wild fluctuations in gas and LNG prices throughout the quarter. BP does not disclose its trading earnings, but Reuters reported that it made at least $500 million in the third quarter.
CEO Bernard Looney said BP had stronger reliability and availability in its businesses, not just trading. Despite the increase in its headline profit, BP registered a loss attributable to shareholders of $2.54 billion due to accounting effects and hedges from LNG price fluctuations. However, the losses are expected to balance out over time. BP cut its net debt further from $32.7 billion in the second quarter to $32 billion in the third quarter.
BP also announced it would boost its share repurchase program by another $1.25 billion in early 2022. That will come on top of $900 million of shares the company bought back during the third quarter. BP plans to maintain buybacks at around $1 billion every quarter at oil prices of at least $60 per barrel. The company said it plans to spend $14 billion to $16 billion in 2022, of which $9 billion would go into oil and gas projects, CFO Murray Auchincloss said. BP’s shares dropped 2.5% by 1320 GMT, exceeding the 1.1% decrease in the broader European energy index.
