BP二季度財報顯示，10年來首次削減了股息，從而失去了其投資理由的一個基礎。

在歐洲同行荷蘭皇家殼牌公司(Royal Dutch Shell Plc) 4月份大幅削減股息之后，這一舉措在很大程度上已在人們的預料之中。盡管大型石油公司慷慨的支付長期以來一直是其吸引投資者的主要因素，但疫情造成的前所未有的市場動蕩，已迫使企業做出在今年以前無法想象的決定。

BP還宣布了一項新的戰略來實現其“凈零”的目標，目標是到2030年減少40%的碳氫化合物產量，10倍的低碳投資，減少30%-35%的排放量。它不會在任何國家勘探新的石油。

該公司公布第二季度經調整凈虧損66.8億美元，上年同期實現利潤28.1億美元。分析師此前估計虧損為84.5億美元。該公司將股息削減至每股5.25美分。

根據即將離任的首席執行長達德利(Bob Dudley)的最終財報，BP公司已將第四季度的派息上調至每股10.5美分。但隨著疫情在全球蔓延，破壞了需求并打擊了油價，80億美元的年度分紅看起來越來越不可靠。

BP的幾乎所有業務，從一線到油氣生產，都受到了疫情對燃料消耗的毀滅性影響。但有一個亮點:BP表示，石油交易取得了“異常強勁的業績”。

這家石油巨頭龐大的交易部門利用了這一時期的波動性，尤其是從所謂的期貨溢價交易中獲利。這種交易包括將廉價石油儲存起來，同時在遠期市場以較高價格出售。道達爾SE、殼牌(Shell)和Equinor ASA都從期貨溢價中獲益，通過交易收益避免了季度虧損。

美國同行埃克森美孚(Exxon Mobil Corp.)和雪佛龍(Chevron Corp.)在交易方面更為謹慎，公布了現代史上最差的一組季度業績。

趙斌 編譯自 鉆井網

原文如下：

BP Cuts Dividend for First Time Since 2010

BP cut its dividend for the first time in a decade, removing a cornerstone of its investment case.

The move was largely expected after European peer Royal Dutch Shell Plc slashed its own dividend in April. While Big Oil’s generous payouts have long been its main attraction to investors, the unprecedented market turmoil wrought by the virus has forced companies to take decisions unthinkable before this year.

BP also announced a new strategy to deliver its “net-zero” ambition, targeting a 40% decline in hydrocarbon production, a 10-fold increase in low-carbon investment, and a 30%-35% cut in emissions from its operations by 2030. It won’t explore for oil in any new countries.

The company reported an adjusted net loss of $6.68 billion for the second quarter, following a $2.81 billion profit a year earlier. Analysts had estimated a loss of $8.45 billion. It cut its dividend to 5.25 cents a share.

BP had raised its payout in the fourth quarter to 10.5 cents a share, in the final set of results for outgoing Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley. But as the coronavirus spread across the world, destroying demand and hammering oil prices, the $8 billion annual payout had looked increasingly shaky.

Virtually every part of BP’s business, from its forecourts to its oil and gas production, was hit by the pandemic’s devastating impact on fuel consumption. But there was one bright spot: oil trading delivered an “exceptionally strong result,” BP said.

The oil major’s sprawling trading unit capitalized on the period’s volatility and in particular made money from so-called contango plays. That trade involves putting cheap oil into storage and simultaneously selling it at higher prices on the forward market. Total SE, Shell and Equinor ASA all reaped the benefits of contango, with trading gains saving them from a quarterly loss.

American counterparts Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., which have a more timid approach to trading, posted their worst set of quarterly results of the modern era.