Occidental Petroleum Announces Record 2004 Results
Posted: 26 January 2005
Occidental Petroleum Corporation announced net income for the fourth quarter 2004 of $665 million ($1.67 per share), compared with $382 million ($0.99 per share) for the fourth quarter 2003. Occidental said the comparability of fourth quarter 2004 earnings to prior quarters would be affected by a number of charges and a tax credit. These items have resulted in net charges totaling approximately $69 million ($0.17 per share). Record earnings of $2.491 billion ($6.30 per share) for the twelve months of 2004 were 58 percent higher than the $1.527 billion ($3.98 per share) the company earned in 2003.
In announcing the results, Dr. Ray R. Irani, chairman and chief executive officer, said, "Our strong fourth quarter performance helped push net income for 2004 to a record high of nearly $2.5 billion, or $6.30 per share. Our success in increasing oil and natural gas production by 3.5 percent for the year to an average of 566,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day allowed us to maximize the benefits from robust oil and gas prices. In addition, our chemicals business had its best year since 1997. The strong performance of our business units allowed us to continue to strengthen our balance sheet by reducing our debt-to-capitalization ratio to 27 percent, the lowest in the company's history."
Oil and Gas
Oil and gas segment earnings were $977 million for the fourth quarter 2004, compared with $640 million for the fourth quarter 2003, an increase of 53 percent. The improvement in the fourth quarter 2004 earnings reflected higher worldwide crude oil and natural gas prices, partially offset by higher exploration expenses and higher operating costs. Oil and gas earnings of $3.544 billion for the twelve months were the highest in the company's history and were 33 percent higher than the $2.664 billion of 2003.
Posted by Editor Pipeline Magazine
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