BP underlying earnings up on energy prices

British energy giant BP said Tuesday that its bottom line was hit by an accounting charge in the third quarter, but underlying earnings rose strongly on the back of soaring oil prices.

BP said in a statement that its net loss widened to $2.5 billion (2.1 billion euros) in the period from July through September from $450 million in the same period a year earlier. 

The group attributed the deeper loss to “significant adverse accounting effects” of $6.1 billion, “primarily due to the exceptional increase in forward gas prices towards the end of the quarter”. 

By contrast, underlying profit surged to $3.3 billion in the third quarter from $86 million a year earlier, BP said. 

Gas prices, along with oil futures, have risen sharply in recent months, boosting income for energy majors, but weighing on business costs and households’ spending power.

“Rising commodity prices certainly helped,” said chief executive Bernard Looney.

“But I am most pleased that quarter by quarter, we’re doing what we said we would -- delivering significant cash to strengthen our finances, grow distributions to shareholders and invest in our strategic transformation.”

BP also announced plans to buy back shares totalling $1.25 billion.