BP Amoco Reports 94% Profit Rise for 3rd Quarter
BP Amoco on Tuesday reported a 94% jump in profit for the third quarter, boosted by higher prices for oil and gas together with thrifty spending.
London-based BP, the world’s third-largest publicly traded oil company, said its pro-forma profit grew to $3.8 billion, or 16.91 cents a share, from $1.96 billion, or 10.09 cents, a year ago, in line with most analysts’ expectations.
Profit in BP’s largest business, exploration and production, climbed 79% to $4.16 billion. The integration of Los Angeles-based Arco, which BP Amoco bought in April, accounted for some of the improvement.
Cost cutting from the Arco buyout is on schedule, with about three quarters of BP’s $2-billion-a-year target made by the end of the quarter, the company said.
“Overall, we’re well on track with our strategic goals,” said Chief Executive John Browne.
Estimates of BP’s operating earnings ranged from $3.6 billion to $4 billion, with the consensus at $3.8 billion, according to eight analysts polled by Bloomberg News.
BP pumped 7% less crude in the quarter, but gas production soared 32%. Among the company’s new projects is a plan to spend $1.2 billion at production sites in the Gulf of Mexico.
At a Glance
Other earnings, excluding one-time gains or charges unless noted, include:
* Abercrombie & Fitch Co.’s profit grew 12% to $43.6 million, or 43 cents a share, 2 cents better than expectations. Sales jumped 28% to $366.9 million, led by sales of women’s apparel. The year-earlier results were adjusted to $39.1 million, or 36 cents, from $38.9 million, or 16 cents, because of an accounting change, the retailer said. Abercrombie & Fitch shares rose as high as $22.38 in after-hours trading. The shares had closed at $21.94 off 13 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange.
* Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp., North America’s largest operator of fitness centers, said third-quarter profit rose 30% to $15.9 million, or 58 cents a share, a penny better than forecasts. Revenue grew 16% to $254.8 million.
* Donna Karan International Inc. posted a 39% increase in third-quarter earnings to $14 million, or 63 cents a share, as analysts had forecast, as revenue rose 3% to $203.7 million.
* Emerson Electric Co., a maker of electronics and telecommunications equipment, said its fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 9% to $371 million, or 86 cents a share, matching forecasts, on a 12% rise in sales to $4.07 billion.
* Human Genome Sciences Inc. said its third-quarter loss widened to $13 million, or 12 cents a share, from $9.7 million, or 11 cents, a year ago, as the biotechnology company poured more money into trials of its expanding pipeline of experimental drugs. Analysts were expecting a slightly larger loss of 13 cents. The company, which has built one of the largest databases of human genes in the industry, said revenue from its collaborations with other drug makers rose 9% to $8.1 million, while its own research-and-development costs jumped 54% to $23.5 million.
* MetLife Inc., the biggest U.S. life insurer, said its third-quarter operating profit rose 26% to $384 million, or 49 cents a share, on strong sales of its insurance and retirement products both to individuals and to companies. Revenue jumped 29% to $8 billion. The earnings matched the average analysts’ estimate. The year-ago earnings assume that MetLife, which converted from a mutual insurer through an initial public offering in April, was a public company in last year’s third quarter.
* OfficeMax Inc. posted a third-quarter loss of $10.3 million, or 10 cents a share, contrasted with a profit of $15.8 million, or 14 cents, a year ago, on slower sales, increased competition and higher costs related to a new inventory and distribution system. Sales rose less than 1% to $1.31 billion. The results were in line with forecasts that had been revised down from 11 cents a share after the company warned last month of weaker-than-expected profit.
