| $ million |
First quarter 2021 |
Fourth quarter 2020 | First quarter 2020 |
| Profit (loss) for the period attributable to bp shareholders | 4,667 | 1,358 | (4,365) |
| Inventory holding (gains) losses*, net of tax | (1,342) | (533) | 3,737 |
| Replacement cost (RC) profit (loss)* |
3,325 | 825 | (628) |
| Net (favourable) adverse impact of adjusting items*(a), net of tax | (695) | (710) | 1,419 |
| Underlying RC profit* |
2,630 | 115 | 791 |
| Operating cash flow* |
6,109 | 2,269 | 952 |
| Capital expenditure* |
(3,798) | (3,491) | (3,861) |
| Divestment and other proceeds(b) |
4,839 | 4,173 | 681 |
| Net issue (repurchase) of shares |
— | — | (776) |
| Net debt*(c) |
33,313 | 38,941 | 51,404 |
| Announced dividend per ordinary share (cents per share) | 5.25 | 5.25 | 10.50 |
| Underlying RC profit per ordinary share* (cents) |
12.95 | 0.57 | 3.92 |
| Underlying RC profit per ADS (dollars) | 0.78 | 0.03 | 0.24 |
In order to utilize the ‘safe harbor’ provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the ‘PSLRA’) and the general doctrine of cautionary statements, bp is providing the following cautionary statement: The discussion in this results announcement contains certain forecasts, projections and forward-looking statements - that is, statements related to future, not past events and circumstances - with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of bp and certain of the plans and objectives of bp with respect to these items. These statements may generally, but not always, be identified by the use of words such as ‘will’, ‘expects’, ‘is expected to’, ‘aims’, ‘should’, ‘may’, ‘objective’, ‘is likely to’, ‘intends’, ‘believes’, ‘anticipates’, ‘plans’, ‘we see’ or similar expressions. In particular, the following, among other statements, are all forward looking in nature: expectations regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, including its risks, impacts, consequences and challenges and bp’s response, the impact on bp’s financial performance (including cash flows and net debt), operations and credit losses, and the impact on the trading environment, oil and gas prices, and global GDP; expectations regarding the shape of the COVID-19 recovery and the pace of transition to a lower-carbon economy and energy system; plans, expectations and assumptions regarding oil and gas demand, supply or prices, the timing of production of reserves; plans and expectations regarding the divestment programme, including the amount and timing of proceeds in 2021, and plans and expectations in respect of reaching $25 billion of proceeds by 2025 and expectations that disposal proceeds in 2021 will be in the $5-6 billion range; expectations with respect to completion of transactions and the timing and amount of proceeds of agreed disposals; plans and expectations with respect to the total amount of organic capital expenditure; plans and expectations with respect to the total capital expenditure for 2021; plans and expectations regarding net debt; plans and expectations regarding new joint ventures and other agreements, including partnerships with Equinor, EnBW, Amazon, RIC Energy, Qantas, Infosys, Australia and Azerbaijan, as well as plans and expectations related to bp’s Mad Dog 2 development in the Gulf of Mexico and bp’s hydrogen production facility in Teesside (UK); plans and expectations with respect to the development of EV charging networks in the UK and Europe; expectations regarding quarterly dividends and share buybacks including plans and expectations to return at least 60% of surplus cash flow to shareholders and to offset dilution from employee share schemes going forward; expectations regarding demand for bp’s products; expectations regarding refining margins, refinery utilization rates and product demand; expectations regarding bp’s future financial performance and cash flows; expectations regarding the underlying effective tax rate for 2021; plans and expectations regarding bp’s renewable energy and alternative energy businesses; expectations regarding reported and underlying production and related major project ramp-up, capital investments, divestment and maintenance activity; expectations regarding price assumptions used in accounting estimates; expectations regarding the timing and amount of future payments relating to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill; and expectations regarding operational and financial results or acquisitions or divestments by Rosneft, and expectations with respect to Rosneft dividends. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will or may occur in the future and are outside the control of bp. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in such statements, depending on a variety of factors, including: the extent and duration of the impact of current market conditions including the volatility of oil prices, the impact of COVID-19, overall global economic and business conditions impacting our business and demand for our products as well as the specific factors identified in the discussions accompanying such forward-looking statements; changes in consumer preferences and societal expectations; the pace of development and adoption of alternative energy solutions; the receipt of relevant third party and/or regulatory approvals; the timing and level of maintenance and/or turnaround activity; the timing and volume of refinery additions and outages; the timing of bringing new fields onstream; the timing, quantum and nature of certain acquisitions and divestments; future levels of industry product supply, demand and pricing, including supply growth in North America; OPEC quota restrictions; PSA and TSC effects; operational and safety problems; potential lapses in product quality; economic and financial market conditions generally or in various countries and regions; political stability and economic growth in relevant areas of the world; changes in laws and governmental regulations; regulatory or legal actions including the types of enforcement action pursued and the nature of remedies sought or imposed; the actions of prosecutors, regulatory authorities and courts; delays in the processes for resolving claims; amounts ultimately payable and timing of payments relating to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill; exchange rate fluctuations; development and use of new technology; recruitment and retention of a skilled workforce; the success or otherwise of partnering; the actions of competitors, trading partners, contractors, subcontractors, creditors, rating agencies and others; our access to future credit resources; business disruption and crisis management; the impact on our reputation of ethical misconduct and non-compliance with regulatory obligations; trading losses; major uninsured losses; decisions by Rosneft’s management and board of directors; the actions of contractors; natural disasters and adverse weather conditions; changes in public expectations and other changes to business conditions; wars and acts of terrorism; cyber-attacks or sabotage; and other factors discussed elsewhere in this report, as well those factors discussed under “Risk factors” in bp Annual Report and Form 20-F 2020 as filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.