Earnings per share

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020


			Cents per share
Per ordinary share	2020	2019	2018
Basic earnings per share	(100.42)	19.84	46.98
Diluted earnings per share	(100.42)	19.73	46.67

		Dollars per share
Per American Depositary Share (ADS)a	2020	2019	2018
Basic earnings per share	(6.03)	1.19	2.82
Diluted earnings per share	(6.03)	1.18	2.80

a One ADS is equivalent to six ordinary shares.

Basic earnings per ordinary share amounts are calculated by dividing the profit for the year attributable to bp ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the year.

The weighted average number of shares outstanding includes certain shares that will be issuable in the future under employee share-based payment plans and excludes treasury shares, which includes shares held by the Employee Share Ownership Plan trusts (ESOPs).

For the diluted earnings per share calculation, the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the year is adjusted for the average number of shares that are potentially issuable in connection with employee share-based payment plans. If the inclusion of potentially issuable shares would decrease loss per share, the potentially issuable shares are excluded from the weighted average number of shares outstanding used to calculate diluted earnings per share.


			$ million
	2020	2019	2018
Profit attributable to bp shareholders	(20,305)	4,026	9,383
Less: dividend requirements on preference shares	1	1	1
Profit for the year attributable to bp ordinary shareholders	(20,306)	4,025	9,382

			Shares thousand
	2020	2019	2018
Basic weighted average number of ordinary shares	20,221,514	20,284,859	19,970,215
Potential dilutive effect of ordinary shares issuable under employee share-based payment plans	—	114,811	132,278
Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding used to calculate diluted earnings per share	20,221,514	20,399,670	20,102,493

			Shares thousand
	2020	2019	2018
Basic weighted average number of ordinary shares – ADS equivalent	3,370,252	3,380,809	3,328,369
Potential dilutive effect of ordinary shares (ADS equivalent) issuable under employee share-based payment plans	—	19,136	22,046
Weighted average number of ordinary shares (ADS equivalent) outstanding used to calculate diluted earnings per share	3,370,252	3,399,945	3,350,415

The number of ordinary shares outstanding at 31 December 2020, excluding treasury shares, and including certain shares that will be issuable in the future under employee share-based payment plans was 20,264,027,711. Between 31 December 2020 and 25 February 2021, the latest practicable date before the completion of these financial statements, there was a net increase of 66,249,231 in the number of ordinary shares outstanding primarily as a result of share issues in relation to employee share-based payment plans.

Employee share-based payment plans

The group operates share and share option plans for directors and certain employees to obtain ordinary shares and ADSs in the company. Information on these plans for directors is shown in the Directors remuneration report on pages 103-126.

The following table shows the number of shares potentially issuable under equity-settled employee share option plans, including the number of options outstanding, the number of options exercisable at the end of each year, and the corresponding weighted average exercise prices. The dilutive effect of these plans at 31 December is also shown.


Share options		2020		2019
	Number of optionsa b thousand	Weighted average exercise price $	Number of optionsa b thousand	Weighted average exercise price $
Outstanding	28,171	3.79	17,112	4.91
Exercisable	1,874	5.02	1,067	3.97
Dilutive effect	2,497	n/a	3,990	n/a

a Numbers of options shown are ordinary share equivalents (one ADS is equivalent to six ordinary shares).

b At 31 December 2020 the quoted market price of one bp ordinary share was £2.55 (2019 £4.72).

In addition, the group operates a number of equity-settled employee share plans under which share units are granted to the group’s senior leaders and certain other employees. These plans typically have a three-year performance or restricted period during which the units accrue net notional dividends which are treated as having been reinvested. Leaving employment will normally preclude the conversion of units into shares, but special arrangements apply for participants that leave for qualifying reasons. The number of shares that are expected to vest each year under employee share plans are shown in the table below. The dilutive effect of the employee share plans at 31 December is also shown.

11. Earnings per share – continued


Share plans	2020	2019
	Number of sharesa	Number of sharesa
Vesting	thousand	thousand
Within one year	87,517	91,105
1 to 2 years	85,720	89,939
2 to 3 years	147,097	80,844
3 to 4 years	749	725
Over 4 years	349	576
	321,432	263,189
Dilutive effect	104,068	92,343

a Numbers of shares shown are ordinary share equivalents (one ADS is equivalent to six ordinary shares).

There has been a net decrease of 29,718,486 in the number of potential ordinary shares relating to employee share-based payment plans between 31 December 2020 and 25 February 2021.