Chevron Profit Falls 64% on Weak Oil Prices

Chevron reported a 64 percent decline in quarterly profit on Friday, lagging Wall Street forecasts, as a sharp drop in energy prices stung the second-largest U.S. oil company.

AP

Net profit fell to $1.84 billion, or 92 cents per share, from $5.17 billion, or $2.48 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue plunged 46 percent to $35 billion.

Excluding a $400 million gain from the sale of its marketing businesses in Nigeria and Brazil, the company posted earnings of 72 cents per share, lagging the analysts' average forecast of 81 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

The results come a day after larger rival Exxon Mobil disappointed investors who had been growing accustomed to energy companies reporting better-than-expected profits despite the collapse in crude oil prices.

Chevron's oil production climbed by 64,000 barrels per day from a year ago to 2.66 million bpd, even as reductions in production quotas in OPEC states cut the company's output by 50,000 bpd during the quarter.

The output increase was not nearly enough to compensate for the steep drop in oil and natural gas liquids prices, which fell by nearly 60 percent to $36 barrel in the U.S. and by 55 percent to $39 a barrel in other countries.

Chevron shares were down 0.5 percent at $65.78 in trading before the market opened.

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