Feb 20 (Reuters) - Centrica ( CPYYF ) announced a share

buyback of 500 million pounds ($629.70 million) on Thursday and

maintained its 2025 forecast, after the British Gas owner

reported annual profit in line with analyst expectations.

The company also said it had signed a 15-year LNG supply

agreement with Brazil's Petrobras that will start in

2027, and that it had concluded a review of its pension schemes

to determine deficits.

Centrica ( CPYYF ) reported adjusted operating profit of 1.55 billion

pounds for the year ended December 31, 2024.

That compared with analysts' average estimate of 1.54

billion pounds, according to data compiled by LSEG.

($1 = 0.7940 pounds)

(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job and Pushkala Aripaka in

Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)