BEIJING, April 25 -- BP Plc, Europe's second-largest oil company, said net income in the first quarter fell 17 percent on lower crude and natural gas prices as production declined, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.

    Net income slipped to 4.66 billion U.S. dollars from 5.62 billion U.S. dollars in the year-earlier period, London-based BP said yesterday. By another profit measure, BP missed analysts' estimates. Most European oil companies are likely to report lower profit and output, before growth resumes in the second quarter, Citigroup Inc said.

    "I can't see BP outperforming its peers with this relatively poor set of quarterly results," Jason Kenney, an analyst at ING Wholesale Banking, said via telephone from Edinburgh. "They have now got the next 12 to 18 months to turn negative sentiment around," said Kenney, who has a "hold" rating on the stock.

    BP's Tony Hayward will be charged with restoring investor confidence, shaken by criticism of a fatal refinery explosion in 2005 and last year's production decline, when he takes over as chief executive officer on August 1. The company's shares have rallied 13 percent over the past five weeks, recouping this year's losses, after tumbling 8.3 percent in 2006.

    Excluding gains or losses from holding inventories or one-time items, profit fell 24 percent to 4 billion U.S. dollars, versus an expected figure of 4.08 billion U.S. dollars, according to the average of eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg before earnings were released.

    Oil and gas production declined three percent from the year earlier quarter to 3.912 million barrels a day, BP said. It was the seventh consecutive quarter in which production fell from the year-ago level.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily)