BP reported on Tuesday a profit of $12.8 billion (R199 billion) in 2021, the highest in eight years, as natural gas and oil prices soared and the global economy recovered from the pandemic slump.
BP's underlying replacement cost profit, the company's definition of net earnings, reached $4.1 billion (R63 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2021, exceeding analysts' expectations for a $3.93 billion (R61 billion) profit.
That compares with $3.32 billion (R51.7 billion) in profit in the third quarter and $115 million (R1.7 billion) a year earlier.
For the year, BP reported a profit of $12.85 billion (R199 billion), compared with a loss of $5.7 billion ((R88.8 billion) in 2020, which came after BP wrote off the value of its oil and gas assets by $6.5 billion (R101 billion) amid a slump in energy demand due to the pandemic.