Bp Accounting Ratios

A company?s financial statements and ratios are good indicators of its performance over the years. This report specifically compares the ratios for 2004 and 2005, with some additional insight into 2003, 2002, and 2001.

The current ratio has increased by 0.0534 from 0.9900 to 1.434. As the current ratio is a measure of liquidity and ability to meet short-term debt requirements, BP was more able to meet their short term debt obligations in 2005 than 2004. From 2001 to 2003 the current ratios were 1.0767, 0.9733, and 0.9600 respectively. In 2001, 2002, and 2004, BP?s current liabilities were greater than current assets, indicating that BP may have faced some difficulty in meeting short-term debt obligations during these years. In 2003 and 2005 the current ratios were greater than 1, representing that BP?s current assets were greater then its current liabilities for the year. BP?s current ratios are less than the industry average, which simply means that there are other companies that are more successful at meeting short term debt obligations than BP for the industry. The industry median for the current ratio is 1.26.

The quick ratio has increased by 0.0246 from 0.7467 to 0.7713. Quick ratios are a measure of the financial strength or weakness of a company and gives insight into how liquid a company is. BP had a higher quick ratio in 2005 than 2004 which translates into being more able to pay liabilities in 2005. The quick ratio was even higher in 2003 at 0.8471; demonstrating that BP was more liquid in 2003. The ratios were lower in 2001 and 2002 indicating a lower ability to liquidate. The quick ratio for BP was lower than the industry average. This shows that BP?s competitors are more liquid then BP is.

BP?s inventory turnover ratio has decreased in 2005 from 18.1589 in 2004 to 12.5293 (approximately 31 %). The inventory turnover indicates how much of the inventory is left over in a year and...