LONDON: BP net profits plunged in the first quarter compared with the outcome a year ago when the group sold its stake in a Russian joint venture, the British energy giant said.

Underlying earnings were hit also by a one-off loss related to the group’s shale energy interests, while the firm also experienced falling revenues and lower oil production.

Net profit stood at $3.528 billion (2.544 billion euros) in the first three months of 2014 compared with profit after tax of $16.863 billion in the first quarter one year earlier, BP said in an earnings statement.

BP — still seeking to reposition itself after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster in 2010 which has cost it tens of billions of dollars in compensation and fines — has since sold its 50-percent stake in joint venture TNK-BP to Rosneft.

This in turn has given BP a near 20-percent holding in the Russian energy company.

“First quarter 2013 included a $12.5-billion gain relating to the disposal of our interest in TNK-BP,” the British company said.