BP Plc, the first oil major to report first-quarter earnings, posted a surprise profit as a stronger-than-expected refining and trading performance helped mitigate the lowest crude prices in more than a decade. Profit adjusted for one-time items and inventory changes totaled $532 million compared with $2.6 billion a year earlier, the London-based company said on Tuesday. Analysts had expected a loss of $244.9 million. BP was the second-biggest gainer in the FTSE 100 Index. “The company is showing it is restructuring and reducing costs to adjust to oil prices and that’s pleasing,” Brendan Warn, a managing director at BMO Capital Markets in London, said by phone. “Higher-than-expected downstream earnings helped it beat estimates this quarter.” Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley, who last month faced a shareholder revolt over his pay package, signaled BP is continuing to drive down costs to ensure it can keep paying dividends. Next year, the […]