Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) released the earnings results from its most recently completed quarter. The oil giant reported earnings of $4.5 billion or $2.36 per diluted share. That’s compared with $6.2 billion or $3.18 per share in the same quarter a year ago. Revenues from sales and other segments were $51 billion for the quarter, compared to $54 billion in the same quarter a year ago.
Analysts had been expecting earnings of $2.51 per share on revenue of $54.47 billion.
Breaking down Chevron’s earnings
Management said the main driver of the company’s lower earnings was lower crude oil prices and volume. They said these were tempered by “global economic factors.” They cited bad weather and unplanned downtime, especially at their holdings in Kazakhstan.
“We continue to advance our key development projects,” Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) Chairman and CEO JohnWatson said in a statement, “and we are anticipating production growth in 2015 and beyond as a result of these investments. Significant progress has been made on the construction of our Gorgon and Wheatstone projects in Australia. Our Jack/St. Malo and Big Foot projects in the Gulf of Mexico are also progressing, with first production planned for late 2014 and mid-2015, respectively.”
Chevron updates production
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) reported that net oil equivalent production was 2.59 million barrels per day in the first quarter, a decline from last year’s 2.65 million barrels per day. The company said “normal field declines,” bad weather, and unplanned downtime more than offset increases in production as they ramped up projects in the U.S., Angola and Nigeria.
The oil company reported average price per barrel of crude oil and natural gas liquids of $91, a decline from $94 last year. The average natural gas sales price was $4.77 per thousand cubic feet, an increase from $3.11 in the same quarter a year ago.
Chevron returns capital
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)’s board of directors approved a 7% increase in the company’s dividend, bringing it to $1.07 per share. It will be payable in June. The oil giant also repurchased $1.25 billion worth of common shares.
