BP chief takes more than £2.3m pay cut after slump in profit

BP chief executive Murray Auchincloss took a £2.3 million pay cut last year amid a slump in profit at the fossil fuel giant.

Mr Auchincloss took home £5.4 million in 2024 including bonuses and shares, down from £7.7 million in 2023, according to BP’s annual report.

The nearly one-third drop came amid a more than £1.1 million cut to his bonus to £734,000, and a £1.6 million fall in share payments to about £2.8 million of BP stocks.

BP made £7.2 billion in profit last year, down about one-third compared to 2023, after oil and gas prices fell from the highs seen in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Despite having turned a record profit in 2022, BP has come under increasing pressure from some investors over its share price, which has lagged behind rival Shell.

BP had previously been among the most ambitious of the energy majors on its green policies.

But Mr Auchincloss said in February that it had gone “too far, too fast” on green energy.

While BP said it is still aiming to hit net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, it will slash its annual renewables spending by nearly three-quarters.

The move was slammed by environmental groups and contradicts guidance by global energy bodies designed to help limit climate change.

Mr Auchincloss was appointed to the top role in January last year, having been acting chief executive since September 2023 after the surprise resignation of Bernard Looney. He was previously the chief financial officer.

He was also forced to delay the announcement of the strategy reset to recover from a medical procedure before returning to the office in February.

In his annual letter, Mr Auchincloss wrote: “This fundamental reset of our strategy demonstrates a clear focus on actions to drive performance improvement and grow cash flow and returns for bp’s shareholders.”

BP was approached for comment.