LONDON — BP reported soaring profits Tuesday on the back of surging oil and gas prices as the global economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.
BP said its underlying replacement cost profits — the industry standard — jumped to $3.3 billion in the three months ending in September, up from just $86 million in the same period a year earlier, when oil prices had slumped because of the pandemic.
“BP’s shares are on the slide thanks to a messy set of third-quarter numbers, marred, just like those of Shell, by accounting losses linked to hedging oil and gas prices,” said Russ Mould, investment director at A.J.
For now, it’s clear that the oil business can be extremely lucrative if the price backdrop is favorable.
It also said it has continued paying down its debt, which had jumped in early 2020 amid the oil price collapse.