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Pin to quick picksBP Share News (BP.)

Share Price Information for BP (BP.)

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Share Price: 510.40
Bid: 509.40
Ask: 509.50
Change: 0.00 (0.00%)
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Wednesday newspaper share tips: BP dividend a luxury for investors

Wed, 03rd Feb 2016 12:24

(ShareCast News) - Despite BP shares plummeting after its worst results is over 20 years, The Telegraph's Questor didn't think it was a buying opportunity.The oil company held its quarterly dividend at 10 cents a share as $2.6bn of write-downs and restructuring charges sent it crashing into losses for the fourth quarter and full year.A $3.31bn loss was reported for the fourth quarter, with underlying profits crashing 91% to $196m, well shy of forecasts, sending the oil major to a $6.48bn full year loss, with annual underlying profits plunging by just over half to $5.9bn.Underlying operating cash flow for the fourth quarter of 2015 remained solid at $5.9bn, but while the total for the year stood at $20.3bn, this was down by more than a third on 2014.Although the slump in the oil price sent the upstream business into a loss in the final quarter, the downstream arm partially offset this with a strong set of counter-cyclical results of flat profits compared to the prior year.Questor said the oil giant has done a lot in response to the falling oil prices, "cutting the fat from a business that grew comfortable with oil at $100".That includes slashing spending on projects and selling non-essential operations.It noted that things are getting tight at the oil giant, with cash generation from drilling and refining oil only just covering its capital spend.However Questor pointed out the company couldn't change its dividend. "In truth BP probably had little choice, or they would have faced a mutiny from the income seeking shareholder register," it said."But, paying dividends out of debt is unsustainable in the long term."The column said while it is going to be painful for income investors, "the dividend increasingly looks like a luxury in such a difficult market", and advised selling shares in BP.In The Times, Tempus was picking through TalkTalk's latest results, including the impact of the cyber-attack late last year.The FTSE 250 telecoms provider did report revenue growth of 1.8%, though it lost 101,000 customers in the three months to 31 December 2015.TalkTalk suffered a serious cyber-attack early in the period, which saw the company suspend sales to new customers for a short time and see significant damage to its brand value.The company's board said the cyber-attack had a trading impact of £15m, and created exceptional costs of £40m-£45m.TalkTalk's on-net customer churn during the three months was 2.1%, of which 0.6% was estimated to be the impact of the attack.Of the 101,000 customers lost, TalkTalk estimated 95,000 of them were due to the attack.Tempus said life isn't entirely back to normal at the telco after the attack, but the company is optimistic by putting our profit and dividend forecasts."These are not normally released at the third-quarter stage, but the numbers indicate that if you strip out all the one-off costs, profits are moving forward strongly as the company adds to its average revenues per customer by selling more services."The column said the loss of customers probably wasn't as bad as expected, and would have been helped by the company's decision to offer a free upgrade.However the main negative factors for the company come down to competition, specifically BT's acquisition of EE being approved and Sky's intention to move into the mobile phone market.Tempus rated the shares at 'buy long term', citing the high dividend yield."Customers might as well take the income while they await further changes in the sector driven by regulation."
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12 Apr 2024 11:37

TOP NEWS: BP shares rise after reports Adnoc had pondered takeover

(Alliance News) - Shares in BP jumped on Friday after reports that the state-owned, United Arab Emirates oil company was considering, but had ruled out, a bid for the London-based oil major.

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12 Apr 2024 08:58

LONDON MARKET OPEN: Stocks get boost thanks to growth in UK economy

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Friday, thanks to new data suggesting the UK economy is out of recession.

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12 Apr 2024 07:56

UAE's ADNOC said to have recently considered BP takeover

(Sharecast News) - The United Arab Emirates' state-owned oil company recently considered buying BP but the deliberations did not progress beyond preliminary discussions, according to a report.

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11 Apr 2024 14:41

Senegal says oil, gas and mine contracts will be reworked if needed

DAKAR, April 11 (Reuters) - Senegal's new Energy and Mines Minister said on Thursday the government would renegotiate oil, gas and mining contracts if necessary once a promised audit is completed.

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10 Apr 2024 08:41

Johnson Matthey and BP win deal for US sustainable aviation fuel plant

(Alliance News) - Johnson Matthey PLC and BP PLC on Wednesday said their technology offering has been selected for use in a sustainable aviation fuel plant being built in the US state of Louisiana.

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10 Apr 2024 07:47

LONDON BRIEFING: Stocks called up ahead of US inflation data

(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are called to open higher, as investors shake off nerves ahead of a key US inflation reading.

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9 Apr 2024 17:26

Slide in defence stocks knocks down Europe's STOXX 600

BP gains on higher quarterly upstream energy output forecast

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9 Apr 2024 17:13

FTSE 100 ends down as defence stocks offset commodity gains

Easter food spending lifts UK retail sales in March

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9 Apr 2024 16:53

LONDON MARKET CLOSE: Stocks struggle in nervy trade before US data

(Alliance News) - European equities closed lower on Tuesday, with sentiment downbeat ahead of Wednesday's US inflation reading, though impetus could be found in gold, which hit another record high.

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9 Apr 2024 15:12

London close: Stocks slip ahead of ECB, US inflation print

(Sharecast News) - London markets closed lower on Tuesday, as investors braced for a key US inflation reading as well as a policy announcement from the European Central Bank later in the week.

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9 Apr 2024 12:00

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: FTSE 100 treads water despite boost from miners

(Alliance News) - Equities in London lacked impetus heading into Tuesday, as investors moved with caution ahead of a US inflation print on Wednesday and the European Central Bank's interest rate decision a day later.

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9 Apr 2024 10:21

PRESS: Shell could make London exit if value gap to US does not close

(Alliance News) - Shell PLC fired a warning shot to that it could be prepared to move its listing to the US in a fresh blow to London's financial centre.

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9 Apr 2024 08:53

TOP NEWS: BP predicts upstream production will rise in first quarter

(Alliance News) - BP PLC on Tuesday said it expects first quarter upstream production to be higher than the previous three month period but cautioned lower prices would hurt performance elsewhere.

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9 Apr 2024 08:44

LONDON MARKET OPEN: Stocks shaky ahead of US CPI data, ECB decision

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened mostly lower on Tuesday, as investors look ahead to a key inflation reading from the US, as well as the latest interest rate decision from the European Central Bank.

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9 Apr 2024 07:51

BP expects rise in first-quarter upstream energy output

April 9 (Reuters) - BP said on Tuesday it expects first-quarter upstream production of both oil and gas as well as low-carbon energy to be higher than the previous three months.

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