BP (BP) - Get Report shares fell to the bottom of the FTSE 100 on Tuesday after the oil major posted lower- than-expected profits for the fourth quarter, despite a rise in global oil prices, and held its dividend unchanged.

BP said earnings per share came in at 13 cents, firmly higher than the 6 cents recorded in the final three months of 2015 but shy of the 16 cents total forecast by analysts. Revenue for the period was just over $51 billion, the company said, up 3.7% from the year-ago period but short of the consensus estimate of $54.7 billion. The quarterly dividend will remain unchanged at 10 cents per share, the company said.

"We have delivered solid results in tough conditions -- and are well prepared for any volatility in oil pricing. We have adapted by cutting our controllable cash costs by $7 billion from 2014 -- a full year earlier than planned," said CEO Bob Dudley. "Continued tight discipline on costs remains essential. Everything we have done during the year has made us a more resilient and competitive company."

"With our Deepwater Horizon financial liabilities now substantially behind us, BP is fully focused on the future. You have seen that focus in the string of strategic portfolio additions during the last two months of the year," Dudley said. "From increasing gas interests and renewing long-term low-cost oil to expanding our retail operations -- these investments will generate significant long-term value for our shareholders. We start this year with considerable momentum -- and a sense of disciplined ambition. We have laid the foundations for BP to be back to growth."

BP shares fell 1.9% in early London trading to change hands at 467 pence each by 8:15 a.m. GMT, trimming the three-month gain to just over 3%, compared to an 8.8% advance for Royal Dutch Shell () and a 10.25% gain for the Stoxx Europe 600 Oil & Gas Index.

Underlying replacement cost profits, a key metric for a company that attempts to neutralize changes in oil prices from period to period, more than doubled from a year ago to $400 million for the quarter, BP said, taking the full-year figure to $2.59 billion.

Brent crude prices averaged $49.19 per barrel in the final three months of 2016, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data, a 12.9% increase from the same period in 2015, and a 7.44% increase from the three months ending in September.

However, the company said that, compared to a year ago, higher oil prices and lower costs were offset by "weaker refining margins and higher turnarounds in downstream."

BP said it sees itself "balancing its organic sources and uses of cash" by the end of this year in a market where Brent oil prices average around $60 per barrel.