BP kicked off the results season for top global oil firms yesterday with forecast-beating profits and a dose of what the industry's investors want – a dividend hike, plans for asset sales, and a promise to keep a lid on spending.

The world’s fifth-largest investor-controlled oil and gas group scaled back its guidance on capital spending next year to $24-$25 billion compared with previous guidance of $24-$27 billion for the years up to 2020.

BP also raised its quarterly dividend by 5.6 per cent to 9.5 cents a share and said it would sell $10 billion of assets over the next two years, returning most of the proceeds to shareholders – a higher rate of disposals than previously promised under a programme aimed at jettisoning $2 to $3 billion worth of assets per year until 2020. –(Reuters)