SAN DIEGO - Surging oil prices helped Occidental Petroleum Corp. post a 56 percent increase in its fourth-quarter profit Tuesday and its highest annual profit ever.
Occidental, one of the nation's biggest oil and gas companies, also reaped gains from a gas pipeline project in the United Arab Emirates that began operating last year. The company's daily production of oil and gas averaged 590,000 barrels during the quarter, up from 561,000 a year earlier.
Occidental earned $1.45 billion, or $1.74 a share, during the three-month period ended. Dec. 31, up from $930 million, or $1.09 a share, a year earlier. The latest figure includes charges of 2 cents a share for severance and discontinued operations.
Excluding those charges, Occidental earned $1.76 a share, above expectations of $1.69 a share among analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
Revenue climbed 37 percent to $5.52 billion from $4.04 billion, also well above analyst expectations for $4.62 billion.
Its shares rose $3.92, or 6.1 percent, to $68.49 Tuesday.
Ray Irani, Occidental's chief executive officer, said "high commodity prices clearly have boosted earnings throughout the industry."
Occidental said it would produce a daily average of between 620 million and 630 million barrels of oil and gas this year, up from 570 million in 2007, largely due to the new pipeline in the United Arab Emirates and work in Oman, Argentina and Columbia. Daily production in the first quarter is expected to average 600 million to 615 million barrels.
Occidental achieved a company record full-year profit of $5.4 billion, or $6.44 a share, up from $4.19 billion, or $4.87 a share, a year earlier. Revenue for the year rose to $13.92 billion from $12.19 billion in 2006.
Occidental, based in Los Angeles, is among the first big industry players to report. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. are scheduled to release results Friday.
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