Oil giant British Petroleum (BP) has reported a better-than-expected first-quarter profit, though it cutback its stock buyback program as prices for crude oil continue to decline.
BP reported a profit of $4.96 billion U.S. for this year’s first quarter. That was better than the profit of $4.30 billion U.S. that was expected among analysts who cover the company, according to Refinitiv data.
However, BP’s Q1 profits was down from $6.2 billion U.S. recorded in Q1 2022 when crude oil prices surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The company also announced a new share buyback program of $1.75 billion U.S., which it plans to complete before announcing its Q2 2023 results in August.
However, the latest share repurchase program is lower than the previous $2.75 billion U.S. stock buyback that was completed on April 28 of this year.
For all of 2023, BP said it expects to buyback around $4 billion U.S. of its own stock, which is at the lower end of its $14 billion U.S. to $18 billion U.S. capital expenditure range.
Shares of BP fell 5% on news of the reduced stock buyback program.
BP also kept its dividend payment unchanged following a 10% increase in February of this year.
The Q1 results come after a record-breaking year for BP and other energy companies. BP posted annual profits of $27.7 billion U.S. last year, more than double its 2021 profit.
BP’s stock has increased 39% over the last 12 months to $40.01 U.S. per share.
