BP (BP) Q4 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Six strategic priorities in 2024 focused on safety, emissions reduction, business focus, efficiency, growth, and shareholder returns, with significant cost reductions and portfolio actions.

• Upstream production increased 2% year-over-year to 2.36 million barrels per day, with plant reliability above 95%.

• Customer and products business, especially refining, faced challenges due to lower margins, but improvement actions and a strategy reset are underway.

• Safety remained a core focus, with a reduction in Tier 1 process safety events, though a fatality occurred at a newly acquired bioenergy site in Brazil.

• Ten major projects were sanctioned, including new JVs in gas and offshore wind, and significant acquisitions and divestments were completed.

Financial highlights

• Operating cash flow for 2024 was $27.3 billion; adjusted EBITDA was $38.0 billion, down $5.7 billion from 2023 due to lower refining margins and trading results.

• Underlying replacement cost profit for 2024 was $8.9 billion, down from $13.8 billion in 2023; Q4 underlying RC profit was $1.2 billion, with an IFRS headline loss of $2.0 billion after $3.1–$3.4 billion in adverse adjusting items.

• Dividend per share increased by 10% year-over-year to 8 cents; $7 billion in share buybacks for 2024, including $1.75 billion in Q4.

• Net debt at year-end was $23.0 billion, up from $20.9 billion in 2023, with gearing at 22.7%.

• Capital expenditure for 2024 was $16.2 billion, in line with guidance; divestment and other proceeds totaled $4.2 billion.

Outlook and guidance

• Q1 2025 upstream production expected to be 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day lower due to divestments and base decline; full year 2025 reported and underlying upstream production expected to be lower.

• Customers & products business expects seasonally lower volumes and continued margin sensitivity to supply costs and FX.

• Products segment expects flat or low refining margins and improved performance due to fewer outages and ongoing improvement plans.

• 2025 EBITDA expected to be slightly below the previous $46–$49 billion target; new financial targets to be set at the February 26 capital markets update.

• 2025 divestment and other proceeds expected to be around $3 billion, with continued focus on cost reduction and capital discipline.