BP is feeling the pain of lower oil prices.

The British giant posted a sharp drop in third quarter profit on Tuesday (October 29).

Net income sank 40% from a year ago to 2.3 billion dollars.

The firm also took a 2.6 billion dollar charge related to the sale of some assets.

Take that into account and BP actually saw its first quarterly loss since 2016.

A 17% drop in oil prices in the third quarter from a year ago has weighed on profits at many energy companies.

BP also saw production decline due to maintenance at several key fields.

Meanwhile Hurricane Barry disrupted output in the Gulf of Mexico for two weeks.

Shares in BP sank around 1% in early trade Tuesday following the news, lagging the broader market.

The task of restoring profitability will fall to a new boss.

Earlier this month BP said chief executive Bob Dudley would retire next year.

He will be replaced by company insider Bernard Looney.