By Adam Whittaker
BP suspended its quarterly share buyback in a bid to strengthen its balance sheet amid weaker oil prices.
The last time the British energy major didn't launch a quarterly buyback was in 2020 during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic when oil prices plummeted and energy companies moved to protect their balance sheets. BP's previous buyback was $750 million and was announced in November alongside its third-quarter results. It had cut its buyback in April last year from $1.75 billion.
The company reported an underlying replacement cost profit--a similar metric to net income that U.S. oil companies report--of $1.54 billion for the fourth quarter. This compared with $1.55 billion analysts had expected, according to a company-compiled consensus, and $2.21 billion reported in the third quarter.
Write to Adam Whittaker at adam.whittaker@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-10-26 0227ET
