BP profits down 40% to $1.8bn as CEO Bob Dudley stays confident

BP's profits fell by 40% in the third quarter of 2015 as UK company was hammered by the continued low price of crude oil.

Underlying profit at the oil giant was down at $1.8bn (£1.2bn, €1.6bn) in the quarter, compared with $3bn in the same period last year. However, the results were well ahead of analysts' expectations of about $1.2bn.

BP announced it is cutting capital costs for the third time in 2015: a year ago expenditure was estimated to be $25bn a year; this has now been cut by around 28% to $18bn.

Long term cost cuts have helped BP climb up from a $1.3bn profit in the second quarter. The company announced an additional $3bn-$5bn divestments in 2016 to increase margins.

"Last year, we acted decisively to reset BP for a sustained period of lower oil prices and the results are coming through well," chief executive Bob Dudley commented. "We are now in action to rebalance our financial framework in this new price environment."

"And I am confident that BP's strong and well-balanced portfolio of businesses and projects gives us the ability to grow value into the future," Dudley said in a statement. "All of this underpins our strong priority of sustaining our dividend and then growing free cash flow and shareholder distributions over the long term."

In early October, it was reported that BP is forced to pay a higher than expected settlement of $20.8bn to deal with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, which left the wildlife and environment in the area affected for years.