Oil companies cautiously count profits

Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum said net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 rose to $2.27 billion, or $2.78 a share, versus $1.32 billion, or $1.58 per share, during the same period a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had been expecting earnings, on average, of $2.71 per share.

Revenue for the quarter rose to $7.06 billion from $4.84 billion in the year-earlier period.

Occidental said earnings from its oil and gas segment were $3.61 billion in the most-recent quarter, compared with $1.95 billion a year ago. Markedly higher commodity prices were partially offset by higher operating expenses.

Occidental shares rose $7.62, or 18.1 percent, to $49.70.

San Antonio-based Valero, the nation's largest independent oil refiner, said its third-quarter profit fell 9 percent from a year ago, but results were better than Wall Street expected.

Valero said net income was $1.15 billion, or 2.18 a share, compared with $1.27 billion, or 2.09 a share, a year ago. Valero had fewer outstanding shares in the most-recent quarter.

Excluding a gain from the July sale of a Louisiana refinery, income from continuing operations was $982 million, or $1.86 a share. Third-quarter revenue grew nearly 52 percent to $35.9 billion.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings on average of $1.54 per share on revenue of $35.79 billion.

Margins — the difference between the cost of crude and other feedstocks and what the company makes on refined products — were extremely volatile in the quarter.

Gasoline margins were low in July, when crude prices hit record highs, but began to improve in August as oil prices began their downward spiral. Margins for distillate products, such as diesel and jet fuels, were robust throughout the quarter, Valero said.

Given the current economic downturn, Valero said it now expects capital spending to be around $3 billion this year, well below the $4.5 billion it had initially planned. For 2009, it expects capital spending to be about $3.5 billion, down $500 million from its previous guidance.

In a call with investors, company officials said the refiner planned to scrap plans for a new coker at its refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, and delay improvement projects at other sites.

"What we've got is a combination of a couple of deletions from our capital budget," said Rich Marcogliese, Valero's chief operating officer. "But primarily it represents a number of deferrals on discretionary investments."

Valero shares rose $1.70, or 11.3 percent, to $16.81.

Earnings season is in full swing for energy companies. Also reporting this week are Exxon Mobil on Thursday and Chevron Corp. on Friday.

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