Tullow returns to profit as cost cuts, hedging pay off

By Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - Africa-focused Tullow Oil returned to profit in the first half of the year despite weaker oil prices and lower production, as its stringent cost cuts and forward hedging strategy started to pay off. Tullow shares opened more than 4 percent higher after the oil and gas producer swung to a pretax profit of $24 million from a $10 million loss in the same period last year. Two years of weak oil prices and, more recently, a technical issue that forced a one-month