SAN RAMON, Calif. – ChevronTexaco Corp.’s second-quarter profit more than doubled as high energy prices extended a recent roll that is shaping into the most prosperous stretch in the oil giant’s 125-year history.
The San Ramon-based company said Friday that it earned $4.13 billion, or $3.88 a share, for the three months ended in June, compared with $1.6 billion, or $1.50 a share, during the same period in 2003. It represented the company’s largest three-month profit since its formation in 1879.
The results included a $585 million gain from the sale of some Canadian assets and a $255 million benefit from changes in income tax laws governing some of ChevronTexaco’s international operations.
Even after subtracting those special items, ChevronTexaco’s earnings would have been $3.09 a share – beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 among analysts polled by Thomson First Call.
Revenue for the period totaled $38.3 billion, a 31 percent increase from $29.3 billion last year.
“I am very pleased with our performance,” ChevronTexaco Chairman Dave O’Reilly said.
ChevronTexaco’s shares gained 18 cents to $95.66 in afternoon trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock surged earlier this week after the company raised its quarterly dividend and announced plans for a 2-for-1 stock split in September.
The second quarter continued the momentum ChevronTexaco enjoyed during the first three months of the year, when oil prices began an ascent that has pushed the price of gasoline to more than $2 a gallon.
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