BP First-Quarter Profit up 17% Despite Spill Damage

Washington Post reports that BP (NYSE:BP) announced a 17 percent increase in first quarter profit to $7.1 billion.

The press release is quoted as saying:

The company’s earnings did show signs of spill damage. The sale of assets last year to fund the costs of spill cleanup and reparations helped shrink the oil giant’s production of oil and natural gas by 11 percent compared with the first quarter of 2010. BP also set aside $400 million to cover spill costs, on top of the $40.9 billion it had already reserved for those costs.

Click here to access the entire press release