BP profits fall short of Shell's success

Oil giant BP's record profits haul has come in well short of the £1.5 million an hour achieved by its major rival, Royal Dutch Shell.

Royal Dutch Shell set a record high for a UK company when it posted profits on an equivalent measure of £12.93 billion.
Shares in BP fell three per cent on Tuesday, February 7th, as the company's fourth quarter profits - up 26% to US$4.43 billion (£2.53 billion) - were hit by a US $553 million (£316.4 million) non-cash charge relating to North Sea gas contracts and a one-off accounting charge of US $454 million (£359.7million).

Meanwhile BP chief executive, Lord Browne denied the allegations of profiteering. He stated that most of the money made was on the production of oil and gas, not the refining of sales and petrol. He added that the money was used as an investment.

"The real question is where does the money go? The money doesn't sit in the company. It is used to invest for the future but the vast bulk of it is sent back to our shareholders, which are basically the pension funds of the UK," he said.