BP announced that it recorded a drop in its underlying replacement cost profit for Q1 2020 to $800 million, down from $2.4 billion in the same period in 2019, according to a press release.

The company said that this result is due to lower prices, demand destruction in the downstream particularly in March, a lower estimated result from Rosneft and a lower contribution from oil trading because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Additionally, the Net debt raised to $51.4 billion at the end of the quarter, $6 billion higher than a quarter earlier, while BP announced a dividend of 10.5 cent per share.

The company reported a loss in its inventory holding of $3.7 billion as a result of the dramatic drop in oil prices. In addition, it recorded a replacement cost loss of $0.6 billion compared to a profit of $2.1 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Bernard Looney, the CEO of BP commented saying that “This extraordinary time for the world demands extraordinary responses. And thankfully we are seeing that just about everywhere we look around the world. Our industry has been hit by supply and demand shocks on a scale never seen before, but that is no excuse to turn inward. BP, like many other companies, is stepping up and extending a helping hand to those in need. We do it not because it is expected of us – but because we want to. That is consistent with our purpose.”

“We are focusing our efforts on protecting our people, supporting our communities and strengthening our finances”. “At the same time, we are taking decisive actions to strengthen our finances – reinforcing liquidity, rapidly reducing spending and costs, driving our cash balance point lower,” he added.