By Jaime Llinares Taboada


BP PLC said Tuesday that it is launching a $1.5 billion buyback and reported higher-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter of 2021.

BP intends to execute a $1.5 billion buyback prior to its first-quarter results, and declared a dividend of 5.46 cents a share for the fourth quarter, in line with the previous period.

The British oil-and-gas giant made an underlying replacement cost profit of $4.07 billion in the fourth quarter, beating the company-compiled market consensus of $3.93 billion--averaged from 26 brokers' estimates. This represented an increase from $3.32 billion in the third quarter and from $115 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, when oil-and-gas prices were lower.

Full-year underlying RC profit was $12.82 billion, swinging from a $5.69 billion loss booked in 2020 and exceeding the $9.99 billion profit reported in 2019, before the pandemic started.

Net profit was $2.33 billion for the fourth quarter and $7.57 billion for 2021.


Write to Jaime Llinares Taboada at jaime.llinares@wsj.com; @JaimeLlinaresT


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-08-22 0235ET