BP shares fall as £2.7bn profits miss expectations

BP has unveiled plans for another multi-billion-pound payday for shareholders alongside quarterly profits of $3.3 billion (£2.7 billion)

- Michael Hunter

But the earnings missed City expectations and shares in the UK’s fourth most valuable company were the biggest fallers on the FTSE 100, despite the $1.5 billion capital return. The stock was down 22p to 505p, a drop of over 4%.

And the payout stoked more public controversy, coming with the oil and gas giant looking for a full-time chief executive after the sudden departure of Bernard Looney. He resigned in September after failing to fully reveal relationships with colleagues.