New Zealand's second largest fuel retailer has returned $300 million to its British owners after higher margins helped it quadruple profits in 2015.
BP New Zealand's financial statements show despite a 16 per cent fall in sales in 2015 to $2.78 billion, net profits after tax climbed to $128.2m, up from $30.3m in 2014.
The profit is the largest the company has reported in at least a decade.
The statements, filed to the companies office on Thursday, reveal that in December BP paid a $300m to its London-headquartered parent company, the first time it had returned any cash to its owner since 2011.
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A spokeswoman for BP said in 2015 the company saw increased demand for its products, boosted by lower product prices, as well as economic and population growth.
This helped boost demand for its higher grade fuels as well as jet fuel, with more Kiwis flying.
During the year the company increased its retail sites from 84 to 90, while another dozen sites saw substantial refurbishment. The number of BP sites has since risen to 93.
While oil explorers have suffered from plunging international crude prices, lower retail fuel prices have not only boosted demand, they have allowed petrol companies to increase margins.
For most of 2015, petrol prices were below $2 a litre, with the national price falling as low at $1.73, which was the lowest level since May 2010, according to figures from the AA.
In New Zealand, margins on petrol have been growing strongly, a move some commentators have blamed on the sale of Shell New Zealand's retail operations into local ownership in 2010. The company is now known as Z Energy.
Figures from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment show the margin between imported petrol and the retail price has risen from about 16 cents a litre in 2011 to just below 28c a litre in 2016.
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