Replacement cost profit, which strips out the effect of oil price
movements, was $17.6bn (£11.18bn) in 2012 - down from $21.7bn a year
earlier.
It comes days after a US court approved a record $4bn criminal fine against BP over the fatal Gulf of Mexico disaster.
BP made $4bn in the fourth quarter, against $5bn for the 2011 period.
Despite the profits fall, the figures beat analysts'
expectations. BP said that its downstream activities - refining and
sales of petroleum products - earned a record amount for the year. Its
share price was up 2% in morning trading.
BP in October agreed to sell its 50% stake in TNK-BP to the
Russian state-owned energy company Rosneft in return for cash and
shares.
"We have moved past many milestones in 2012, repositioning BP
through divestments and bringing on new projects. This lays a solid
foundation for growth into the long term," said BP chief executive Bob
Dudley.
But some analysts said they would remain sceptical about the company's outlook until all claims are settled.
Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown
Stockbrokers said in a research note: "BP made much progress during the
full year, yet it is still far from being out of the woods."
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident was one of the worst environmental disasters in US history.
It killed 11 workers and released millions of barrels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico over 87 days.
BP said that it took an additional $4.1bn charge in the
fourth quarter, related to its settlement agreement with the US
Department of Justice, in which it agreed to plead guilty to 14 criminal
charges.
In total the company believes the cumulative cost of the Gulf of Mexico spill at the end of 2012 amounted to $42.2bn.
BP will also pay an $525m to the Securities and Exchange Commission over a period of three years.
The UK group now faces a civil trial over the accident,
scheduled to start 25 February in New Orleans, which could potentially
cost billions of dollars more in civil penalties.
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