BP Enhances Dividend as Profit Beats Estimates on Margins

BP Plc’s quarterly profit beat estimates as underlying production increased and refining margins improved. Europe’s third-largest oil producer said it would pay stockholders a higher dividend for the period.

Net income adjusted for one-time items and inventory changes fell 19 percent to $3 billion in the third quarter from $3.7 billion a year earlier, the London-based company said today in a statement. That beat the $2.93 billion average of 14 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. BP will pay a dividend of 10 cents a share, a 5.3 percent increase from a year earlier.