BP's profit attributable to shareholders rose to $4.7 billion for the July to September period, four times the $1.16 billion of a year earlier, it said, as disruption from the Iran war boosted its refining and trading earnings.
The British oil and gas major also beat analysts' forecasts and cut its net debt by $8.4 billion, weeks before its new CEO sets out her strategy in December.
Its underlying replacement cost profit, the figure investors judge BP on, nearly quadrupled to $8.5 billion from $2.2 billion, well above the $6.2 billion expected.
It strips out swings in the value of BP's oil and fuel stocks and one-off items, such as $4 billion of writedowns this quarter, mostly on what it called "transition businesses".
