BP saw shares gain on Tuesday after the oil major reported a less-than-expected decline in profits in the third quarter and said it was "well on track" to hit its targets this year.Underlying replacement cost (RC) profit, adjusted for non-operating items and fair value accounting effects, totalled $3.04bn for the three months to 30 September, down 18% on the $3.69bn earned in the same period last year.The drop was blamed on a lower contribution from its share in Russian state-owned Rosneft, as well as weaker oil prices. However, analysts had pencilled in a figure closer to $2.93bn.The company said it received underlying net income from Rosneft of just $110m over the three months, compared with $808m previously, on the back of a sharp depreciation of the rouble against the dollar, along with lower Urals oil prices and associated duty tax lag effects.For the first nine months of 2014 combined, underlying RC profit was $9.90bn, compared with $10.62bn previously."BP's operational momentum continues to deliver results," said chief executive Bob Dudley."Growing underlying production of oil and gas and a good downstream performance generated strong cash flow in the third quarter, despite lower oil prices. This keeps us well on track to hit our targets for 2014."Total reported oil and gas production for the quarter, including BP's stake in Rosneft, averaged 3.1m barrels of oil equivalents per day (mmboed), more or less flat on the previous year.The company said this reflected the expiry of an onshore concession in Abu Dhabi, partly offset by a strong performance in the Gulf of Mexico and higher production at Rosneft.Excluding Russia, production totalled 2.1mmboed, down 2.7% year-on-year.Looking ahead, BP said: "Third-quarter production benefited from the absence of seasonal adverse weather in the Gulf of Mexico. Depending on weather and the closing of the Alaska package sale to Hilcorp, we expect fourth-quarter reported production to be slightly lower."The stock was up 1.4% at 436.3p by 15:30.Analyst Sheridan Admans from The Share Centre reiterated a 'buy' rating on the stock following the results despite recent pressures affecting the numbers.She said that investors willing to take on a little risk while looking for capital growth and income should consider building positions. "However, the recent drop in the price of oil will certainly have a dampening effect on earnings as we have seen from today's results, so investors may wish to drip feed into the stock," she said.