British oil giant BP on Tuesday logged a third-quarter net loss of $2.2 billion on accounting charges, but underlying profit more than doubled to $8.2 billion on high energy prices.
BP had registered a loss after tax of $2.5 billion in the June-September period a year earlier, it said in a statement.
While oil has shed almost a third of its value since early June, futures capped the first monthly gain since May last month after the OPEC+ alliance agreed to sizable production cuts. Excess supply was the main reason to curb output from November, the group's Secretary-General Haitham al Ghais said on Monday.
Oil prices rose more than 1 per cent on Tuesday, paring losses from the previous session, as a weaker U.S. dollar offset widening COVID-19 curbs in China that have stoked fears of slowing fuel demand in the world's second-largest oil consumer.
Bumper profits for debt, shareholders
BP's adjusted net income was $8.15 billion, just below the record set in the second quarter, but still well ahead of the average analyst estimate of $6.18 billion, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. It's more than double the level from a year ago.
Once again, BP's large and opaque trading unit appeared to be key to the better-than-expected profit. The company said its gas marketing results were particularly notable in what was a very volatile quarter for prices in Europe.
Bumper profits have been used to pay down debt and reward shareholders. The company's latest share buyback wthe total repurchases announced in 2022 to $8.5 billion. Net debt fell to $22 billion, dropping at a slower pace than prior quarters but still down by almost $10 billion from a year earlier.
- Inputs from agencies
