Chevron tops estimates with Q1 profit gain despite slide in oil prices

Oil major Chevron Corp (CVX.N) beat market expectations on Friday as profit nudged higher in the first-quarter, with earnings from refining compensating for a slide in energy prices and in oil and gas production.

Net profit climbed 5% to $6.57 billion or $3.46 per share. That compares with a Wall Street consensus for flat profit at $3.38 per share, according to figures compiled by Zacks Investment Research.

The company’s standout business was oil refining, where higher margins helped income surge more than five-fold to $1.8 billion.

But its oil and gas production division saw its net profit tumble 25% on a big year-over-year declines in prices.

Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, traded at a average of $82 per barrel during the first three months of the year, down 16% from a year earlier and a drop of 7% from the fourth-quarter.

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