BP cuts dividend after losing 18.031 million through June to coronavirus
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The oil company BP decided this Tuesday cut your dividend payment in half, for the first time since 2010, after the COVID-19 crisis dragged the company to register semi-annual losses of more than 18,000 million euros.
In disclosing its results, the company reported that it will pay a dividend of $ 5.25 (4.46 euros) per share in the second quarter compared to $ 10.5 ($ 8.9) in the previous quarter, following the fall in demand for crude oil after the cancellation of flights due to the pandemic.
Brent crude, a benchmark in Europe, which last January it was trading at around $ 70 a barrel, sank below $ 20 in April and is currently trading at around $ 44.
In its statement sent today to the London Stock Exchange, BP reported that it recorded a half-yearly attributable loss of $ 21,213 million (€ 18,031 million). As indicated, these losses in the first half of the year contrast with the attributable gains of 4,756 million dollars (4,042 million euros) obtained in the same period of 2019.
The total turnover of the company amounted in the semester -January to June- to 90,730 million dollars (77,120 million euros), while the losses before taxes they reached 24,547 million dollars in the six months (20,864 million euros), according to BP, which discloses its results in dollars because it is the currency in which "black gold" is quoted.
BP shares in the London market rose 6.7% today to 300 pence (333 cents).
Net debt stood at June 30 at $ 40.9 billion (€ 34.765 billion), compared to $ 46.5 billion (€ 39.525 billion) the previous year, and its liquidity reached $ 47 billion ($ 39.95 billion) of euros).
The oil company estimates that the global demand for crude be between 8 and 9 million barrels per day less than in 2019 and warns that there is a risk that the pandemic will have a lasting impact on the global economy, with possible weakness in demand for energy over a sustained period of time.
In addition to the pandemic, the oil sector faced problems of a geopolitical nature after Saudi Arabia and Russia started a price war earlier this year, followed by the coronavirus pandemic that pushed demand down.
In the first half of 2020, BP repurchased 120 million common shares for $ 776 million (€ 659 million), and made acquisitions in the first half of the year for $ 67,656 million (€ 57,507 million).
The company's CEO, Bernard Looney, pointed out that these results represent another "very challenging" moment for the sector, although he pointed out that the company's performance is robust, "with good cash flow and, most importantly , with safe and responsible operations ».
BP reported that it closely follows the impact of COVID-19 on its global operations and that so far there has been no significant direct operational impact, although this may change in the remainder of the third quarter of the year (July to September).
He also reported that he supports the communities in which he operates, such as providing discounts to emergency services and healthcare workers in the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as donating protective equipment (PPE) to healthcare and advocacy. of mask use in Africa.
In addition to the results, the company reported that it expects that by the end of this decade can invest about 5 billion dollars (4,250 million euros) in low carbon emission projects.