The company’s fortunes have been overshadowed for years by the Gulf of Mexico disaster in 2010, which cost it more than £65 billion ReutersBP’s profits leapt by 69 per cent to $2.4 billion in the first quarter as higher oil prices and increased production helped the energy giant beat expectations. The company held out the prospect of a first dividend increase since 2014Bob Dudley, chief executive, hailed a “strong set of results”, which were the oil major’s best quarterly performance in three years. Stripping out one-off costs, underlying profits rose to $2.6 billion, up 71 per cent from $1.5 billion in the same period a year earlier and significantly ahead of market expectations of $2.2 billion. BP, which is based in London, has global operations ranging from exploring for oil and gas to selling petrol and ready meals at service stations. Its recent history has been dominated…

Source: The Times May 01, 2018 08:06 UTC