BP boosts payouts after profit jump, transition on track

BP boosted its dividend and share buybacks after beating expectations with a $2.8 billion second-quarter profit powered by higher oil prices and recovering demand.

The strong results, underpinned by higher sales at petrol stations, bolster BP's plan to shift away from oil and gas to renewable and low-carbon energy in an effort to battle climate change, CEO Bernard Looney told Reuters.

"The strengthening of the balance sheet and the excess cash flow allow us to prosecute our agenda around the energy transition," Looney said.

Rivals including Royal Dutch Shell, TotalEnergies and Chevron also boosted shareholder returns last week, reflecting a recovery from the pandemic which saw energy demand plummet.

BP increased its dividend by 4% to 5.46 cents after it was halved to 5.25 cents in July 2020 for the first time in a decade.

BP also plans to repurchase $1.4 billion in shares in the coming months after generating surplus cash of $2.4 billion in the first half of the year, it said.

In April, BP launched a $500 million buyback plan to offset dilution from an employee share distribution programme.

Looney said in a statement that the measures were possible due to a stronger performance as well as "an improving outlook".

BP expects global oil demand to recover to pre-pandemic levels sometime in the second half of 2022.

BP's underlying replacement cost profit, the company's definition of net earnings, reached $2.8 billion in the second quarter, beating the $2.15 billion expected by analysts.

That was up from $2.63 billion in the first quarter and marked a rebound from a loss of $6.68 billion a year earlier.

The results were also due to stronger demand for fuel, including aviation fuel, as well as higher profit margins at convenience stores in BP's petrol stations, it said.

BP's net debt fell dropped to $32.7 billion from $40.1 billion.