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BP CEO Looney Gets Low Remuneration in 2020 Due to Pandemic

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BP P.L.C. (BP - Free Report) reported that Bernard Looney, its chief executive officer, received a remuneration of £1.735 million in 2020 as the coronavirus-led lockdowns and economic slowdown had a severe impact on the company’s profitability.

The remuneration involved £1.18 million in salary and £351,000 in shares. Notably, Looney did not receive annual bonuses in 2020 as the relevant plan was unattainable, owing to the weak business environment.

Due to a significant collapse in oil demand, BP slashed the value of its oil and gas assets by nearly $20 billion. Fellow integrated majors, including Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM - Free Report) , have also witnessed their market values go down in recent months.

Looney’s first year at the office was dominated by market disruptions arising from the Covid-19 crisis that led to an annual loss of nearly £4.1 billion in 2020 against a profit of about £7.3 billion in 2019. Notably, the company reported an annual loss for the first time in a decade.

BP mentioned that the weak 2020 results were driven by low commodity prices, significant exploration write-offs and a sharp drop in fuel demand. The company’s shares have lost more than 40% of their value over the past year and remain near multi-year lows. Notably, the ongoing pandemic is likely to continue impacting its performance.

Looney planned to rapidly increase the renewable energy business of the company and slash its oil output by 40% by 2030. Although the weak environment is affecting its business, BP’s aim to transit toward a carbon-neutral future stayed on track. The company plans to boost renewable power generation to 50 gigawatts by 2030 from the initial 3.3 GW in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

BP reported a profit of £115 million in fourth-quarter 2020 due to the rising commodity prices. On its part, the company will progressively invest in renewable and continue to remain active in core oil and gas, which is expected to further support profits.

Company Profile & Price Performance

Headquartered in London, U.K., BP is a fully integrated energy company, with a strong focus on renewable energy.

Shares of the company have underperformed the industry in the past six months. The stock has gained 36.2% compared with the industry’s 46.7% growth.

 

 

Zacks Rank & Stock to Consider

The company currently carries a Zack Rank #3 (Hold).

One better-ranked player in the energy space is Pioneer Natural Resources Company (PXD - Free Report) , currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Pioneer’s earnings for 2021 are expected to rise 23.1% year over year.

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