BP Posts Upbeat Q4 Underlying Profit, Plans To Lower Capex

BP plc BP reported a net loss for the fourth quarter. The company posted a quarterly net loss of $4.41 billion, versus a profit of $1.04 billion. Its revenue dropped 21% to $74 billion. BP posted a replacement-cost loss of $969 million for the quarter, versus a year-ago profit of $1.51 billion. BP posted an underlying replacement cost profit of $2.2 billion, compared to estimates of $1.5 billion. For the full year, the company posted a replacement-cost profit of $8.07 billion, versus $23.61 billion in 2013. Net profit for the year dropped to $3.78 billion versus $23.45 billion, while revenue shrank 6.7% to $353.57 billion. The company also declared a dividend of 10 cents for the quarter. BP also announced its plans to lower capital expenditure by 13% to $20 billion in 2015. CEO Bob Dudley said, "We have entered a challenging phase of low oil prices. Our focus must now be on resetting BP, while maintaining safe operations." BP shares gained 1.96% to $40.64 in pre-market trading.