Benzinga - by Chris Katje, Benzinga Staff Writer.
Oil giant Occidental Petroleum reported fourth-quarter earnings after the market close Wednesday.
Here are the key highlights.
What Happened: Occidental Petroleum reported earnings per share of 74 cents for the fourth quarter, which beat a Street consensus estimate of 71 cents per share, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
"Our teams performed exceptionally well during the fourth quarter of 2023, concluding another year of operational excellence across all three business segments," Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub said.
The company reported pre-tax income of $1.6 billion for the oil and gas segment, which was down from $2 billion in the third quarter. Occidental said it had higher lease operating expenses and lower domestic crude oil prices in the quarter.
The OxyChem segment had pre-tax income of $250 million in the fourth quarter, which was down from $373 million in the third quarter, but exceeded the company’s guidance. Occidental said the income declined due to higher operating costs and material costs.
The Midstream and Marketing Midstream segment had pre-tax income of $182 million, which is up from a loss of $130 million in the third quarter.
Occidental had operating cash flow of $3.2 billion in the fourth quarter.
The company increased its quarterly dividend 22% to 22 cents per share.
Related Link: Occidental Petroleum Q4 Earnings Preview: Buffett’s Confidence, What Analysts Expect, Path To Carbon Neutrality
What's Next: Occidental highlighted its cash flow accretive acquisition of CrownRock that it said will help strengthen its onshore portfolio in the U.S. The company also closed the acquisition of Carbon Engineering.
"We are continuing to focus on delivering long-term value for our shareholders through the 22% increase in our dividend and strategic transactions to high-grade our domestic portfolio and advance our low-carbon initiatives, including the closing of the Carbon Engineering acquisition," Hollub said.
The earnings report from Occidental comes after legendary investor Warren Buffett recently boosted his ownership stake in the company via Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRK) (NYSE:BRK).
OXY Price Action: Occidental shares are trading at $57.44 versus a 52-week trading range of $55.12 to $67.66.
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