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Chevron posts first $5-billion quarter

A record run, with five oil producers making a combined $31.6-billion, will likely end soon.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published October 28, 2006

SAN RAMON, Calif. - Chevron Corp.'s quarterly profit surpassed $5-billion for the first time, putting an exclamation point on the oil industry's latest earnings bonanza.

Topped off by the record results released Friday by Chevron, five of the world's largest oil companies produced a combined net income of $31.6-billion during the three months ended in September.

None of the brethren grew faster than Chevron, whose third-quarter profit rose 40 percent from last year. It marked the third time in the past year that its quarterly results have hit a new high.

Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest public oil company, fared the best in terms of sheer earnings power, with a third-quarter profit of $10.5-billion - the second highest in its history.

This might be as good as it gets, for the near term at least, now that crude oil prices are hovering around $60 per barrel, down from a peak of $78.40 in mid July.

"As far as record earnings are concerned, the game is over," said Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Fadel Gheit, adding Chevron reaped its biggest gains at the gasoline pumps.

Chevron's third-quarter earnings of $5.02-billion, or $2.29 per share, compared with net income of $3.59-billion, or $1.64 per share, at the same time last year.

Chevron boosted its earnings despite a slight decline in its revenue, which totaled $54.2-billion. That was down from $54.5-billion last year.

The performance topped the average estimate of $2.03 per share among analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, helping to lift Chevron shares 18 cents to close at $67.68 on the New York Stock Exchange.

[Last modified October 27, 2006, 23:40:54]