Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • LOGIN
  • Subscribe
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Consultants
    • Coronavirus
    • Courts
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • ETFs
    • Face to Face
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Opinion
    • Partner Content
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Russia-Ukraine War
    • SECURE 2.0
    • Special Reports
    • White Papers
  • Rankings & Awards
    • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
    • Top-Performing Managers
    • Largest Money Managers
    • DC Money Managers
    • DC Record Keepers
    • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
    • World's Largest Retirement Funds
    • Best Places to Work in Money Management
    • Excellence & Innovation Awards
    • WPS Innovation Awards
    • Eddy Awards
  • ETFs
    • Latest ETF News
    • Fund Screener
    • Education Center
    • Equities
    • Fixed Income
    • Commodities
    • Actively Managed
    • Alternatives
    • ESG Rated
  • ESG
    • Latest ESG News
    • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
    • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
    • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
    • Impact Investing
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • ESG Rated ETFs
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Performance Data
    • P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Future of Investments Research Series
    • Charts & Infographics
    • Polls
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
    • 2023 Defined Contribution East
    • 2023 ESG Investing
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Online
June 04, 2010 01:00 AM

BP execs work to calm shareholder fears

Barry B. Burr
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    BP executives on Friday sought to reassure shareholders the company has the financial strength to deal with the costs of the Gulf of Mexico deepwater oil blowout and continue to grow the value of the company.

    It's too soon to determine what impact the disaster will have on dividends, said Carl-Henric Svanberg, BP chairman.

    “Our first priority must be to do the right thing in the Gulf of Mexico,” he said in a webcast.

    BP aims to balance the return to shareholders through the payout of dividends to them, long-term growth and a strong balance sheet by maintaining prudent leverage levels, Mr. Svanberg said.

    When asked whether the company would suspend its dividend until the ultimate gulf-related liability is determined, Mr. Svanberg said, “That's a good question. It is something we have to follow (to see) if that would come true. We haven't seen anything of that kind that indicates that (curtailment). But of course, it is one of those things we have to understand” once it's time to determine future dividends.

    In a separate statement on Friday, Mr. Svanberg said, “We fully understand the importance of our dividend to our shareholders. Future decisions on the quarterly dividend will be made by the board, as they always have been, on the basis of the circumstances at the time. All factors will be considered and the decision taken in the long-term interests of the shareholders.”

    BP on June 21 plans to pay its scheduled first-quarter dividend, about $2.6 billion, spokesman David Nicholas said in an interview after the webcast. Company officials expect to announce their decision on plans for a second-quarter dividend July 27 when it releases its quarterly financial results, Mr. Nicholas added.

    Tony Hayward, BP CEO, said in the webcast the company “supports the savings and retirement plans of millions of people.”

    “We are generating the cash we need to satisfy costs we see,” Mr. Hayward said.

    In regard to BP's credit-rating downgrade on Thursday, Byron Grote, CFO, said in the webcast: “We feel like we can deal with whatever sort of turbulence might exist in the debt markets, and we've positioned ourselves to robustly deal with it.”

    Mr. Grote noted that BP has $5 billion in cash, $5 billion in bank credit lines and $5 billion in additional short-term financing sources.

    Moody's Investors Service downgraded BP's senior unsecured ratings by one notch to Aa2 from Aa1 and the long-term issuer ratings of its BP Corp. North America and BP Finance units to Aa3 from Aa2. Moody's affirmed BP subsidiaries' P-1 short-term debt ratings.

    Fitch also downgraded BP, lowering the company's long-term issuer default rating and senior unsecured rating to AA from AA+. It reaffirmed BP's short-term issuer default rating at F1+.

    Both Fitch and Moody's placed BP on watch for possible further downgrading.

    BP intends to maintain its AA credit rating, Mr. Grote said.

    Related Articles
    Disaster costing BP plan participants $1.1 billion
    Recommended for You
    martin_luther_king_day_generic_i.jpg
    No P&I Daily on Martin Luther King Jr. Day
    Closed sign
    No P&I Daily over the holidays
    Happy_Thanksgiving_i.jpg
    No P&I Daily for Thanksgiving holiday
    The Institutional Investor's Guide to ESG Investing
    Sponsored Content: The Institutional Investor's Guide to ESG Investing

    Reader Poll

    January 25, 2023
    SEE MORE POLLS >
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    Show Me the Income: Discovering plan sponsor and participant preferences for cr…
    The Future of Infrastructure: Building a Better Tomorrow
    Outlook 2023: Opportunity in a volatile world
    Research for Institutional Money Management
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today
    December 12, 2022 page one

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    130 E. Randolph St.
    Suite 3200
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Content Solutions
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Consultants
      • Coronavirus
      • Courts
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • ETFs
      • Face to Face
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Opinion
      • Partner Content
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Russia-Ukraine War
      • SECURE 2.0
      • Special Reports
      • White Papers
    • Rankings & Awards
      • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
      • Top-Performing Managers
      • Largest Money Managers
      • DC Money Managers
      • DC Record Keepers
      • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
      • World's Largest Retirement Funds
      • Best Places to Work in Money Management
      • Excellence & Innovation Awards
      • WPS Innovation Awards
      • Eddy Awards
    • ETFs
      • Latest ETF News
      • Fund Screener
      • Education Center
      • Equities
      • Fixed Income
      • Commodities
      • Actively Managed
      • Alternatives
      • ESG Rated
    • ESG
      • Latest ESG News
      • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
      • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
      • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
      • Impact Investing
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Performance Data
      • P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
      • Future of Investments Research Series
      • Charts & Infographics
      • Polls
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars
      • 2023 Defined Contribution East
      • 2023 ESG Investing