BP Plc profits outperformed expectations by almost $1 billion in the first quarter thanks in part to the high margin nature of new production that came on stream at the end of 2012 and a strong performance from its trading division.The British oil company - still fighting multi-billion dollar lawsuits over its Gulf of Mexico oil spill of three years ago - turned in underlying replacement cost net profit of $4.215 billion for the quarter.That was down from $4.65 billion a year ago mainly due to asset sales, but beating analysts expectations of around $3.27 billion.BP has been flagging for some time that its new production might deliver better profitability. The quarter included a full three months of production from its Skarv field in the North Sea and from its PSVM facility in Angola which both started producing at the end of last year.
BP p.l.c. (BP) is an integrated oil and gas company. Shares of BP remained unchanged at $42.63. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $36.25 and as high as $45.45. On average, 7243430 shares of BP exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 300.
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