BP's third-quarter profit soars but US hurricanes weigh

LONDON - Oil giant BP Plc reported a sharp rise in underlying third quarter profits on Tuesday in line with forecasts, boosted by high oil prices and strong refining margins, but United States (US) hurricanes weighed on the results.

The world's second-largest listed oil company said in a statement that its replacement cost profit, which strips out gains or losses from changes in the value of fuel inventories, was $US4.41 billion ($NZ6.35 billion).

Excluding one-off items of $US921 million, underlying profit was $US5.33 billion, up from $US4.18 billion in the same period last year on an IFRS adjusted basis.

This compares with a Reuters poll of nine analysts which gave an average forecast of $US5.39 billion, with a range of $US5.0 billion to $US5.6 billion, for replacement cost profit, excluding exceptionals, the measure preferred by investors and analysts.

- REUTERS