BP profits collapse

LONDON: BP profits collapsed in the third quarter as oil prices halved on back of the stubborn global supply glut, the British energy giant said on Tuesday. The London-listed energy major, which was ravaged by the catastrophic 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, added it would cut investment further and sell more assets. Net profit dived 64 per cent to $46 million (42 million euros) in the three months to the end of September, compared with $1.29 billion a year earlier, BP said in a results statement. Profit adjusted to reflect the value change in oil inventories sank 40 per cent to $1.82 billion from $3.04 billion. That however beat market expectations of $1.26 billion according to analysts polled by Bloomberg. The group lowered its full-year 2015 capital-spending forecast to less than $20 billion. The company invested about $23 billion in 2014.