Chevron nearly triples quarterly profit to $9.9 billion — OilPrice
U.S. energy company Chevron reported a profit of $9.9 billion in the third quarter, nearly three times higher than a year earlier. Earnings per share rose from $1.82 to $5.06, while adjusted earnings amounted to $10.4 billion, or $5.28 per share. This exceeded Wall Street expectations of $4.89 per share, OilPrice reports.
Growth in refining profits
The largest increase was delivered by the fuel refining and marketing segment. Its profit reached $4.93 billion, compared with $1.14 billion in the same period a year earlier. Chevron's U.S. segment profit in this area rose to $3.59 billion from $638 million a year earlier.
The company's U.S. refineries operated at 98% utilization and processed a record 1.09 million barrels of oil per day. At the same time, fuel sales changed little, amounting to 1.3 million barrels per day. According to OilPrice, Chevron received more money for approximately the same volume of fuel sold amid a reduction in available global fuel production capacity.
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Production and cash flow
Chevron also benefited from higher oil prices: the average Brent price during the quarter was $97 per barrel, compared with $69 a year earlier. Profit in the exploration and production segment rose to $5.7 billion from $3.3 billion.
The company's total production, meanwhile, declined to 3.98 million barrels of oil equivalent per day from 4.09 million barrels a year earlier. Production in the United States exceeded 2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day for the fifth consecutive quarter. Chevron's operating cash flow amounted to $16 billion, while free cash flow was $12 billion, compared with $4.9 billion a year earlier. During the quarter, the company reduced total debt by $3.5 billion and maintained share buybacks at $2.5 billion.
Chevron also plans additional investments in Venezuela: its joint ventures expect to spend $7 billion there over the next five years.
