After a brutal year for the energy sector, Chevron reported a profit for the first quarter of 2021 as a recovery in oil prices boosted operations. The company's results were still far below pre-pandemic levels.<\/p>\n
The oil giant said it earned an adjusted 90 cents per share during the period, with revenue coming in at $32.03 billion. EPS was in-line with what analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting, while revenue was slightly ahead of the expected $30.37 billion estimates.<\/p>\n
Net income stood at $1.377 billion, down 62% year over year. Last quarter, Chevron posted a $665 million loss.<\/p>\n
"Earnings strengthened primarily due to\u00a0higher\u00a0oil prices as the economy recovers," Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth said in a statement.<\/p>\n
He noted that results were down from a year earlier due to factors including downstream margin and volume effects from the pandemic, as well as the aftermath of the winter storm that battered the South in February.<\/p>\n
Chevron's oil-equivalent production dropped 4% year over year to 3.12 million barrels per day. The company's upstream operations in the U.S. earned $941 million during the first quarter, up from $241 million a year earlier as oil prices recovered. Chevron's average sales price per barrel of U.S. oil was $48, up from $37 a year earlier.<\/p>\n
Chevron said it will raise its dividend by 4%, in another sign that the company is recovering from the hit of the pandemic.<\/p>\n
"We maintained capital discipline with capital spending down 43 percent from last year," Wirth added.<\/p>\n
Shares of Chevron dipped 2.1% during premarket trading on Friday.<\/p>\n
Exxon Mobil on Friday also said it returned to profitability during the first quarter, beating top- and bottom-line estimates for the period.<\/p>\n