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Chevron Corp. (CVX, Financials) reported its first refining loss in four years as part of its fourth-quarter earnings, leading to a 3.7% drop in its stock price to $150.54 as of 12:00 p.m. ET Friday trading.
Comparatively to $2.3 billion, or $1.22 per diluted share, the business reported profits of $3.2 billion, or $1.84 per diluted share, in the same quarter a year before. Down from $6.5 billion in the previous-year quarter, adjusted profits came to $3.6 billion. Including $15.2 billion in share repurchases, Chevron paid $27 billion in cash back-off to its 2024 shareholders. Approved by the board is a 5% quarterly dividend increase to $1.71 per share payable on March 10 to record as of February 14 to each shareholder on file.
From a year earlier to a record 3.35 million daily, worldwide net oil-equivalent output increased 7%. Driven by an 18% expansion in the Permian Basin and a full year of output from PDC Energy properties, U.S. production rose 19%. Maintaining capital discipline, the corporation pursued important projects in the United States and Kazakhstan.
Compared to $1.6 billion a year earlier, fourth-quarter upstream profits came at $4.3 billion. As causes of the profits improvement, Chevron mentioned higher output and the lack of prior-year decommissioning requirements. Reduced price realizations and increased operational expenditures caused international upstream profits to drop somewhat to $2.9 billion from $2.93 billion, somewhat offset by positive foreign currency impacts.
Compared to profits of $1.1 billion a year before, the downstream section reported a $248 million loss in the quarter. While foreign downstream profits decreased to $100 million from $677 million in the last year, U.S. downstream businesses recorded a $348 million loss. The business blamed reduced margins on refined product sales, more severance expenses, and defects for the downturn.
Down from $12.4 billion in the previous year, cash flow from operations came to $8.7 billion for the quarter. Free cash flow fell from $8.1 billion in the year before to $4.4 billion. At $16.4 billion, capital spending for 2024 exceeded $15.8 billion in 2023 somewhat.
Completing asset sales in Canada, Alaska, and the Republic of Congo, Chevron brought in $7.7 billion in profits. Securing shareholder approval and completing antitrust scrutiny, the corporation progressed its planned purchase of Hess Corp. Up from 11.5% a year earlier, the debt ratio by the end of 2024 was at 13.9%; the net debt ratio rose to 10.4% from 7.3%.
The firm projected structural cost cuts of between $2 billion and $3 billion by 2026. Still making investments in energy solutions, it launched a $500 million Future Energy Fund III targeted at low-carbon technology. Chevron completed initiatives intended to save 700,000 metric tons of carbon emissions.