BP's share price rose sharply this morning after a meaty set of results delighted investors eager to spot signs of a turnaround.

But while the 48 per cent rise in profits, to $6.6 billion (£3.3 billion), provided good reason to be cheerful, BP's results were flattered by almost $1 billion of unexpected revenue, including a one-off $400 million gain from oil and gas trading, $400 million in lower costs, and $200 million from tax bills in Russia that are paid with a delay. The overall results were also given a huge boost by runaway oil prices.

The signs of a real, long-awaited turnaround at BP were actually quite thin on the ground, leaving room for disappointment at the interim results stage, especially since the next batch of results will include the disruption related to industrial action at Grangemouth. Most significantly, the group's first-quarter production was flat on a year ago, at 3.9 million barrels per day — a key indicator that suggests that Tony Hayward still has some way to go before he can claim BP is out of the woods. Refining margins had also recovered very slightly but were still way down on a year ago.

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