Analyst Views: What did you make of BP’s third-quarter results?
NEILL MORTON | INVESTEC
The stock market doesn’t want the oil majors to spend money. Instead, investors want their cash back. And BP has obliged, with an increase in the dividend, a new $10bn disposal programme and plans for flat capex in 2014. But this could be overshadowed by the Gulf of Mexico legal fallout.
RONNIE CHOPRA | T1PSPREADBETTING
The results comfortably beat analyst forecasts and resulted in heavy buying in the oil major. Concerns remain as much depends on the US court case but the asset sales and dividend hike make BP an attractive buy and add possible bid speculation from the likes of Royal Dutch Shell.
SANJEEV BAHL | NUMIS
The results are strong, beating expectations and benefiting from lower-than-expected financial items. Challenges remain as the company points to continued pressures in its US downstream (onshore) business, due to high gasoline stocks, new competitors and lower seasonal demand.