BP Beats Expectations With $5 Billion Profit After Fending Off Shareholder Challenge

British oil major BP beat expectations in the first quarter on strong results from trading oil and gas, and said Tuesday it will buy back a further $1.75 billion in shares.

BP’s first-quarter underlying replacement-cost profit—a metric similar to net income that U.S. oil companies report—of $4.96 billion—exceeded the $4.27 billion average forecast by 25 analysts in a survey compiled by the company. It compared with $6.25 billion a year prior.