BP swings to hefty annual loss but raises hope of ‘better days ahead’

BP has swung to a mammoth annual loss of 5.7bn US dollars (£4.2bn) after oil prices and demand tumbled amid the pandemic (Andrew Milligan/PA)

BP has swung to a mammoth annual loss of 5.7bn US dollars (€4.7bn) after oil prices and demand tumbled amid the pandemic.

The oil giant’s hefty underlying replacement cost losses – its most watched measure – compare with profits of $10bn (€8.2bn) in 2019 and come despite a bounce-back in the second half of the year as oil prices started to recover.