DNO fourth-qaurter beats forecasts, 2019 spending to rise sharply

OSLO (Reuters) - Norwegian oil firm DNO, which acquired London-based Faroe Petroleum in January, reported on Thursday a much higher-than-expected quarterly operating profit, and said it would lift its spending significantly in 2019.

Earnings before interest and taxes rose to $230 million (£177.9 million) in the fourth quarter from $25.7 million a year ago, beating a forecast of $68.5 million in a Reuters poll of analysts.

The company said it would lift capital spending to $220 million in 2019, up from $138 million last year, with the total spending, including a record exploration programme, to be at $420 million.

(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis, editing by Gwladys Fouche)