BP committed to transition pathway, despite loss

CEO Bernard Looney is confident the business is bouncing back from pandemic impact even though profitable renewables projects remain hard to source

BP filed its first annual loss in a decade—of $5.7bn—for the 2020 financial year, reversing its $10bn profit for 2019. But the company is confident it will bounce back from the pandemic, having already swung back into the black by Q4, and says its restructuring for decarbonisation is already paying off. Investors do not have the same confidence. Bernard Looney, CEO of BP, previously described the firm’s hydrocarbons division as the engine room of the business and said that, overall, BP would deliver earnings growth out to 2025 with returns of 8-10pc. But the company has declined renewables projects that do not meet its threshold of returns, making at least one firm, bank JP Morgan, doubt it