BP Plc. said Tuesday that second-quarter profit rose on the sale of the Coryton refinery in Britain and the West Texas pipeline in the United States to Occidental Petroleum Corp.
The company, in its first results since Tony Hayward succeeded John Browne as chief executive on May 1, reported net profit of $7.38 billion (5.34 billion euros) for the quarter, up from $7.27 billion in the same period a year earlier. Revenue was $73.1 billion (52.9 billion euros), compared with $73.2 billion a year earlier.
Profit, excluding exceptional items and changes in inventories, was $5.35 billion (3.87 billion euros), down 12 percent on the comparable period a year ago.
First-half profit declined 6.6 percent to $12.04 billion (8.7 billion euros).
"Whilst profit was down for the period, this had been well flagged in advance and the outlook for the remainder of the year looks upbeat," said Richard Hunter, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers.
"It is generally agreed that the oil price is fairly stable at its current levels, and the resumption of projects such as the Gulf of Mexico should consolidate performance as the year pans out."
BP shares slipped half a percent to 604.5 pence ($12.44) on the London Stock Exchange.
(AP)