ChevronTexaco Corp., the No. 2 U.S. oil company, on Friday reported a rise in quarterly profit, pumped up by record oil and gas prices and gains on asset sales.
Net income in the third quarter jumped to $3.2 billion, or $1.51 a share, from $2.0 billion, or $1.01 a share, in the year-earlier quarter.
The results included gains of $486 million, or 23 cents a share, related to the sale of non-strategic assets.
Analysts on average expected the San Ramon, California company to report a profit of $1.36 a share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Record oil prices — which have shot up 60 percent this year — fueled results at the company's exploration and production operations and higher margins boosted results at its international downstream operations.
But that was partly offset by lower margins for refined products in the United States and disruptions from hurricanes that swept through the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean.