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* Quarterly results hit by weak demand, trading
* Debt expected to rise in first half of year
* BP's annual profits: https://tmsnrt.rs/3atzysX
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By Ron Bousso and Shadia Nasralla
LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - BP's profit in the last
quarter of 2020 sunk to $115 million due to weak energy demand
and poor trading results, with fuel consumption continuing to
slide so far this year due to tightening travel restrictions.
On an annual basis, BP plunged to a $5.7 billion loss, its
first in a decade, after the oil major wrote down the value of
crude and gas assets by $6.5 billion in the second quarter.
BP said on Tuesday its quarterly results were impacted
"significantly" by lower fuel and gas sales, weak refining and
trading profits as well as a $154 million write-off in the value
of oil and gas exploration assets.
"These results reflect a truly tough quarter," Chief
Financial Officer Murray Auchincloss said in a statement.
Demand is nevertheless expected to recover in 2021, BP said.
Tighter global natural gas markets are expected to further
support profits, it said, adding it saw coronavirus related
restrictions weighing on refined products demand in the first
quarter.
Its fourth-quarter underlying replacement cost profit, the
company's definition of net income, of $115 million fell short
of the $360 million seen in a company-provided survey of
analysts.
That compared with an $86 million profit in the third
quarter and a profit of $2.6 billion a year earlier.
For the year, BP reported an underlying loss of $5.69
billion, compared with a profit of $10 billion in 2019.
BP's debt pile of $39 billion is expected to rise in the
first half of this year as it continues to struggle with a weak
environment, but the company said it remained on track to reduce
it to $35 billion by early 2021.
BP's dividend remained at 5.25 cents per share.
(Reporting by Ron Bousso and Shadia Nasralla. Editing by Jason
Neely and Mark Potter)
