BP (BP.) delivered an underlying replacement cost profit, which is adjusted for oil price movements, of $3.04bn (£1.89bn) at the third-quarter stage, against $3.69bn in the corresponding period of 2013. While that slippage was broadly in line with market expectations, the beleaguered oil major sweetened the pill by bumping up the quarterly dividend payment by 5.3 per cent to 10¢ a share.
BP has been struggling with declining oil prices and a sharp drop in income from its 19.75 per cent stake in Russian state oil major, Rosneft. Indeed, underlying net income from Rosneft reached just $110m, compared with $808m a year earlier. Despite bravado from the Kremlin, western economic sanctions are beginning to bite and the rouble has slipped around a fifth year on year.
