BP posts first loss for 20 years but restores dividend

BP reported an annual loss of $4.9bn (£3.1bn) in 2010, the first time the oil giant failed to post full-year profits since 1992.

The loss compares with profits the previous year of $13.9bn and takes into account $40.9bn set aside for costs relating to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Robert Dudley, chief executive of BP, said the company would restore its dividend payment to shareholders, paying 7 cents a share. Dividend payouts had been suspended in the wake of last April's spill. Despite the loss, BP's profits during the fourth quarter of 2010 were $4.6bn, a third higher than in Q4 2009. Some of this has been attributed to the rising price of oil, which hit $90 a barrel by the end of last year. Dudley says...