Chevron Second-Quarter Profit Rises as Energy Demand Increases
John Watson, chairman and chief executive officer of Chevron Corp., testifies at a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing in Washington. Photographer: Brendan Hoffman/Bloomberg
Chevron Corp., the second-biggest U.S. oil company, said profit tripled, exceeding analysts’ estimates, after recovering demand for petroleum-based fuels lifted energy prices.
Second-quarter net income jumped to $5.41 billion, or $2.70 a share, from $1.75 billion, or 87 cents, a year earlier, San Ramon, California-based Chevron said today in a statement. Per- share profit was 24 cents higher than the average of 18 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Chevron follows Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips in reporting surges in earnings this week after recovering economies around the world boosted demand for diesel and other fuels. Refining earnings at Chevron jumped more than sevenfold to $975 million. U.S. oil futures averaged $78.05 a barrel in the quarter, up 31 percent from a year earlier.
“It’s a common theme this quarter of riding higher commodity prices and improved refining and chemical margins,” said Brian Youngberg, an analyst at Edward Jones in St. Louis who has a “buy” rating on Chevron shares and doesn’t own any. “I think the company continues to have a good outlook going forward.”
Revenue climbed 32 percent to $53 billion, Chevron said. Oil and natural-gas production rose 2.8 percent to the equivalent of 2.75 million barrels of crude a day.
Worldwide demand for oil in the second quarter increased an estimated 3.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the International Energy Agency in Paris.
Shares Rise
Chevron rose 19 cents to $76.21 as of the 4 p.m. close of New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock, which has 18 buy and 8 hold ratings from analysts, has climbed 13 percent in the past year.
Chevron Chief Executive Officer John Watson aims to boost oil and gas production with wells in places such as the Gulf of Mexico and Australia. The industry is coping with a moratorium on new deep-water drilling permits in the U.S. Gulf following an explosion April 20 at BP Plc’s Macondo well, which killed 11 workers and caused the biggest oil spill in U.S. history.
Exxon Mobil, the biggest U.S. oil company, said yesterday that its second-quarter net income jumped 91 percent to $7.56 billion. ConocoPhillips, the No. 3 U.S. energy producer, said July 28 that its profit jumped almost fivefold to $4.16 billion.
To contact the reporter on this story: Edward Klump in Houston at eklump@bloomberg.net.
Rate These Stories
Rate this Page