NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil company BP posted reduced earnings for the period that saw it shut down its Alaskan oil fields due to a leaks in its pipeline, but the company appeared to top forecasts.

The company earned $6.2 billion for the period, excluding special items, down from $6.5 billion a year earlier.

But a share repurchase program still allowed it to post improved earnings per share, as it earned 31.46 cents per London share, up from 30.75 cents per share there a year earlier. Its earnings per U.S. share came to about $1.89, up from $1.85 per U.S. share a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call had forecast earnings per U.S. share to slip by a penny, but First Call said it couldn't say for sure how the result compared to its forecasts until it heard from more analysts.

In August BP shutdown about 200,000 barrels of daily production at its Alaskan operations at Prudhoe Bay after it discovered corrosion in its pipelines there. While it has since returned to service all three flow stations previously shut down, production is still about 50,000 barrels a day below its previous levels.

The problems in Prudhoe Bay left overall crude production about 8 percent below year-earlier levels and 4 percent below second quarter production. But total revenue at the company rose 7 percent on higher oil prices to $73 billion in the period, although that was down 1 percent from second quarter revenue.

Shares of BP were up nearly 1 percent in London trading early Tuesday following the report.

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