BP hikes dividend after strong fourth quarter

THIS PICTURE IS 7 OF 25 TO ACCOMPANY INSIGHT "ELECTRIC-CAR/BIG OIL". SEARCH IN YOUR PICTURE SYSTEM FOR KEYWORD "ELECTRIC VEHICLES" TO SEE ALL IMAGES. (PXP310-334) Charging lots for electric cars are seen inside a car park in Hong Kong January 29, 2012. Many of the headlines out of autoshows in the past couple of years have been captured by the launch of electric cars such as Nissan's Leaf, the Tesla sports car, plug-ins like General Motors' Chevrolet Volt, and the latest incarnation of the Toyota Prius. Other manufacturers including BMW, Rolls Royce and Porsche have presented electric-powered prototypes. On the basis of this, one could be forgiven for thinking the auto industry is betting big on electric power. Yet few auto executives share the optimism of Renault and Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn who has repeatedly said he sees electric vehicles making up 10 percent of all sales in 2020. A survey of 200 auto industry executives conducted by KPMG released on Monday gave an average forecast for electric vehicles to account for 6-10 percent of global auto sales in 2025, more bullish than oil companies BP and Exxon who expect electric cars to make up no more than 4-5 percent of all cars globally in 20-30 years. Picture taken January 29, 2012. To match Insight ELECTRIC-CAR/BIG OIL REUTERS/Tyrone Siu (CHINA - Tags: BUSINESS ENERGY ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY)

LONDON - BP PLC has raised its quarterly dividend by 14 percent after posting double-digit gains in profit and revenue in the last three months of 2011 despite further big payments to compensate for the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

For the three months ending Dec. 31, BP reported a profit of $7.69 billion, up 38 percent from the $5.57 billion posted a year earlier. Revenue was up 15 percent at $96.3 billion.

Replacement cost profit, a closely watched industry measure, was 65 percent higher at $7.6 billion.

"2012 will be a year of increasing investment and milestones as we build on the foundations laid last year," said CEO Bob Dudley.

"As we move through 2013 and 2014, we expect financial momentum will build as we complete payments into the Gulf of Mexico Trust Fund, restore high-value production and bring new projects on stream."

The fund Dudley referred to is the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust, created in 2010 to pay victims of the spill. BP had paid $15.1 billion of the $20 billion it's supposed to put into the fund as of Dec. 31. The fund has paid out about $6.7 billion in claims.

For the full year, BP reported a profit of $39.8 billion compared to a loss of $3.7 billion in 2010; replacement cost profit was $23.9 billion compared with a loss of $4.9 billion in the previous year.

The hike in the quarterly dividend, to 8 cents per share, is the first increase since BP resumed paying dividends a year ago.

"The dividend is still far from the historical heady heights, however, whilst the ongoing fallout from the Gulf of Mexico spill is a distraction," said Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown. "More positively, the fund put aside to finance these claims seems sufficient, whilst further planned divestments will enable BP to focus more strategically on higher growth opportunities."

BP shares were up 0.3 percent in early trading in London at 4.91 pounds.

"It was good to see a dividend increase with the results and it is a good sign of confidence in the improving operational performance," said Tony Shephard, analyst at Charles Stanley & Co., who rated the shares as "hold."

"BP's share valuation is low relative to the other oil and gas majors but it still faces uncertainty over the Gulf of Mexico tragedy."

BP faces its day in court in New Orleans on Feb. 27 with the opening of a limitation and liability trial over the spill.

BP PLC, rig owner Transocean Ltd. and cement contractor Halliburton Co. have been fighting each other over who was responsible for causing the blowout, which was finally halted in July 2010. U.S. investigators have said that BP bears ultimate responsibility for the spill, but has faulted all three companies to some degree.

"We continue to believe that BP will settle sooner rather than later given the U.S. presidential election and we see a 50 percent chance this will occur in the next few weeks," said Stuart Joyner, analyst at Investec Securities.

BP has reached settlements with some of its partners and contractors including $4 billion from Anadarko Petroleum Corp., which had a 25 percent stake in the well; $1.1 billion from MOEX, which had a 10 percent stake; and $75 million from Weatherford International Ltd. which supplied casing components.

"As I have said before, we are prepared to settle if we can do so on fair and reasonable terms, but equally, if this is not possible, we are preparing vigorously for trial," Dudley said.

BP says it currently has five deepwater rigs working on BP-operated fields in the Gulf of Mexico plus an appraisal well. It expects to have three more rigs working in the Gulf by the end of the year.

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