Total on hunt for acquisitions as cost cuts lift profit

By Bate Felix PARIS (Reuters) - French oil company Total is on the hunt to buy assets from struggling rivals, it said on Thursday, after reporting better than expected fourth quarter net profit thanks to cost cuts, and raising its dividend. Adjusted net profit climbed 16 percent year-on-year to $2.4 billion (2 billion pounds) , beating analysts' average forecast of $2.3 billion, while the quarterly dividend was set at 0.62 euros per share, up from 0.61 euros in the previous three quarters. CEO P