BP hikes dividend by 10
Will repurchase 1.5 billion of shares
Weak refining, oil trading and high maintenance weigh

LONDON, Aug 1 Reuters BP39;s  secondquarter profit slumped 70 from a year earlier to 2.6 billion, missing forecasts, as refining margins and oil trading income fell, but still allowing the energy giant to boost its dividend by 10.

Rivals Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell and TotalEnergies have also reported sharp drops in quarterly earnings, hurt by a drop in energy prices from highs hit following Russia39;s invasion of Ukraine a year and a half ago.

Our underlying performance was resilient with good cash delivery during a period of significant turnaround activity and weaker margins in our refining business, Chief Executive Officer Bernard Looney said in a statement.

BP39;s underlying replacement cost profit, its definition of net income, missed expectations of 3.5 billion in a companyprovided survey of analysts.

It fell from 8.5 billion a year earlier and from 5 billion in the first quarter.

BP increased its dividend by 10 to 7.27 cents per share, the fourth hike since halving it in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic three years ago. It will repurchase 1.5 billion of its shares over the next three months.

In May, BP slowed down the pace of its quarterly buyback programme to 1.75 billion from 2.75 billion in the previous three months, prompting its largest daily share drop in more than three years.

Looney told Reuters that the buyback programme…