UK: BP’s Second Quarter Replacement Loss $17 Billion

Following the explosion and subsequent sinking of the Transocean Holdings LLC operated Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, BP and US Government authorities have been conducting unprecedented oil spill response activities. These ongoing efforts have sought to halt the flow of hydrocarbons from the well, capture and contain oil that has been leaking, protect the shores and clean up oil that has reached the shores. BP’s own investigation, as well as several independent investigations, into the cause of the accident are ongoing.

* BP’s second quarter replacement cost loss was $16,973 million, compared with a profit of $3,140 million a year ago. For the half year, replacement cost loss was $11,375 million compared with a profit of $5,527 million a year ago.

* The group income statement for the second quarter reflects a pre-tax charge of $32.2 billion related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. This includes $2.9 billion which has been charged for costs incurred to 30 June 2010. All charges relating to the incident have been treated as non-operating items. For further information on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and its consequences see pages 2 – 5, Note 2 on pages 25 – 28, Principal risks and uncertainties on pages 33 –39 and Legal proceedings on pages 40 – 43. Further information on BP’s second quarter results is provided below.

* Non-operating items and fair value accounting effects for the second quarter, on a post-tax basis, had a net unfavourable impact of $21,953 million compared with a net favourable impact of $202 million in the second quarter of 2009. For the half year, the respective amounts were $22,002 million unfavourable and $8 million favourable. See pages 6, 21 and 22 for further details.

* Finance costs and net finance income or expense relating to pensions and other post-retirement benefits were $214 million for the second quarter, compared with $321 million for the same period last year. For the half year, the respective amounts were $442 million and $689 million.

* The effective tax rate on replacement cost profit or loss for the second quarter and half year was 30% and 27% respectively, compared with 35% and 36% a year ago. Excluding the impact of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the effective tax rate for the second quarter was 35% and for the half year was 34%.

* Net cash provided by operating activities for the quarter and half year was $6.8 billion and $14.4 billion, including a $2.1-billion cash outflow relating to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill response, compared with $6.8 billion and $12.3 billion respectively a year ago.

* Total capital expenditure for the second quarter and half year was $6.2 billion and $10.9 billion respectively. Organic capital expenditure(c) in the second quarter and half year was $4.4 billion and $8.2 billion respectively. Organic capital expenditure for 2010 and 2011 is expected to be around $18 billion a year. Disposal proceeds were $0.7 billion for the quarter and $0.8 billion for the half year. The group plans to dispose of assets with a value of up to $30 billion over the next 18 months, including $7 billion from the recently announced disposals to Apache Corporation.

* Net debt at the end of the quarter was $23.2 billion, compared with $27.1 billion a year ago. The ratio of net debt to net debt plus equity was 21% compared with 22% a year ago. The net debt ratio at the end of the second quarter 2010 was impacted by the reduction in equity arising from the liabilities we have recognized in relation to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The group intends to reduce net debt to $10-15 billion within the next 18 months.

* Cash costs(d) for the second quarter and half year were slightly lower than a year ago. Cash costs do not include amounts relating to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.This results announcement also represents BP’s half-yearly financial report for the purposes of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules made by the UK Financial Services Authority. In this context: (i) the condensed set of financial statements can be found on pages 15-20 and 24-32; (ii) pages 1-13, 21-23 and 33-43 comprise the interim management report; and (iii) the directors’ responsibility statement and auditors’ independent review report can be found on pages 13-14.

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Source: BP, July 27, 2010: