BP says annual net profit slides to $4 bn in 2019

British energy giant BP on Tuesday said annual net profit slid to USD 4.0 billion last year, hit by weaker oil prices, as long-time chief executive Bob Dudley bowed out. The figure was down sharply compared with profit after tax of $9.38 billion in 2018, the company said in a statement marking the end of American Dudley’s time at the helm.

It was announced in October that Bernard Looney, head of BP’s upstream division, would replace Dudley. “After almost ten years, this is now my last quarter as CEO,” Dudley said in Tuesday’s statement. “In that time, we have achieved a huge amount together and I am proud to be handing over a safer and stronger BP to Bernard and his team.