* Quarterly results hit by weak demand, trading
* Debt expected to rise in first half of year
* BP's annual profits: https://tmsnrt.rs/3atzysX
(Adds detail, shares)
By Ron Bousso and Shadia Nasralla
LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - BP plunged to a $5.7
billion loss last year, its first in a decade, as the pandemic
took a heavy toll on oil demand, with fuel consumption
continuing to slide so far this year amid global travel
restrictions.
For the last quarter of 2020, BP reported a profit of $115
million, falling short of analysts' forecasts due to weak oil
and gas sales and subdued trading, it said on Tuesday.
"These results reflect a truly tough quarter," Chief
Financial Officer Murray Auchincloss said in a statement.
At 0815 GMT, BP shares were down 3.2% at 258.9 pence.
"We expect renewed COVID-19 restrictions to have a greater
impact on product demand, with January retail volumes down by
around 20% year on year, compared with a decline of 11% in the
fourth quarter," BP said.
Oil demand is nevertheless expected to recover in 2021, the
company said.
Tighter global natural gas markets are expected to further
support profits, it said, although it saw coronavirus-related
restrictions weighing on refined products demand in the first
quarter.
Adjusted profit at BP's downstream - or refining and
marketing - business in the fourth quarter collapsed to $126
million, less than a tenth of what it was a year earlier.
BP's shares have lost over 40% of their value over the past
year and remain near 25-year lows, battered by concerns over oil
demand due to the pandemic as well as investor doubts over BP's
ability to successfully carry out its an ambitious plan to shift
away from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
Rivals including Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil
have also seen their market capitalization sink in
recent months.
BP's overall fourth-quarter underlying replacement cost
profit, its definition of net income, of $115 million fell short
of the $360 million seen in a company-provided poll 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
business environment, but the company said it remained on track
to reduce it to $35 billion by early 2021.
At that debt level, BP plans to start share buybacks.
BP's dividend remained at 5.25 cents per share.
(Reporting by Ron Bousso and Shadia Nasralla. Editing by Jason
Neely and Mark Potter)
