(Bloomberg) -- BP Plc raised the possibility that its share buybacks could slow next year from the $1.75 billion quarterly pace seen in 2024, as weaker oil prices push its debt higher. Shares fell.
The British oil major’s net debt increased in the third quarter by $1.7 billion to $24.27 billion, the highest since the start of 2022. While that helped the company maintain its buyback for now, BP suggested the level could change in February, when it will review its strategy and financial guidance.
“Buybacks are variable,” BP Chief Executive Officer Murray Auchincloss said in an interview on Tuesday. “They go up and down based on performance and the price environment. Performance is great. Price environment we don’t control.”
BP’s shares fell 5%, bringing their loss so far this year to 19%, compared with a decline of about 8% in the price of oil.
The British major kicked off earnings season for the world’s large oil companies with adjusted net income of $2.27 billion in the third quarter, ahead of the average analyst estimate. BP and its peers are under pressure to keep rewarding their investors even as their profits normalize following a period of unusually high oil and gas prices in recent years.
In addition to the effect of falling crude prices, BP’s profits were also crimped by weaker margins for refined fuels. The company said it expects them to remain low in the fourth quarter.
“Against a softer economic outlook, rising net debt and an acutely weak refining backdrop, we expect the capital markets day in February to include a review of its current buyback guidance of $7 billion for 2025,” said Will Hares, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
BP reiterated its plan to pursue the transition to green energy, while focusing on extracting greater value from its legacy fossil fuel business.
“In oil and gas, we see the potential to grow through the decade with a focus on value over volume,” Auchincloss said in a statement. “We also have a deep belief in the opportunity afforded by the energy transition.”
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