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oil major BP nearly halved its third-quarter dividend and swung to a profit in the quarter as the impact of lower oil prices on revenue was offset by a fall in costs.
For the third quarter, the company reported a pre-tax profit of $150 million compared with a loss of $25 million year-on-year, while revenue fell to $24.3 million from $68.3 million.
Production for the quarter was 3,542mboe per day, 5.7% lower than the third quarter of 2019 as upstream output fell 5.7%driven by 'divestments in BPX Energy, Alaska and Gulf of Suez oil concessions in Egypt,' the company said.
The replacement cost result before interest and tax for the third quarter and nine months was a profit of $24 million and a loss of $991 million respectively, compared with a loss of $412 million and $1,339 million for the same periods in 2019.
The results included a net non-operating charge of $112 million for the third quarter and $265 million for the nine months, compared with a charge of $90 million and $309 million for the same periods in 2019
The company said it expected its headcount to reduce by around 10,000 positions, with headcount down by 2,800 for the year so far.
'BP expects to incur people-related costs associated with the reinvent programme, including redundancy payments, of around $1.4 billion over the next 1-2 years, primarily in 2020,' it added.
The dividend was cut by 48.8% to 5.25 cents.
Looking ahead, BP said it expected US gas supply to continue its decline in 2021, amid a drop production, and forecast refining margin to remain challenging.
'The refining margin outlook remains challenging, given record high inventory levels and a levelling off in demand recovery for gasoline and jet fuel due to COVID-19,' it added