SummaryCompanies BP hikes dividend by 10%Will repurchase $1.5 billion of sharesWeak refining, oil trading and high maintenance weighLONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - BP's (BP.L) second-quarter profit slumped 70% from a year earlier to $2.6 billion, missing forecasts, as refining margins and oil trading income fell, but still allowing the energy giant to boost its dividend by 10%.
BP's underlying replacement cost profit, its definition of net income, missed expectations of $3.5 billion in a company-provided survey of analysts.
It fell from $8.5 billion a year earlier and from $5 billion in the first quarter.
BP's gearing, or debt-to-capital ratio, stood at 21.7% in the second quarter, compared with 19.6% in the first quarter and 21.9% a year earlier.
For the third quarter, BP expects oil prices to be supported by OPEC supply cuts alongside above-historical-average refining margins helped by lower inventories and U.S. demand.
Persons:
Bernard Looney, Looney, Biraj Borkhataria, Ron Bousso, Jason Neely
Organizations:
Rivals Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, Reuters, Reuters Graphics Reuters, RBC, Thomson
Locations:
Ukraine, Germany