Occidental Petroleum (OXY) 2020 Q4 Earnings Results

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:OXY), founded in 1920, struggled to generate profit for several years following its inception. Over the years, the company stepped into new territories such as coal mining, chemical and fertilizer production, among others. Yet, its core focus always remained on oil and gas exploration. The international expansion and acquisitions during its decades-long journey helped OXY to become a leading oil producer.

Like rivals, Occidental also incurred heavy losses in 2020 due to the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on its global operations. Extremely low oil prices for the most part of 2020 forced the company to trim its dividend twice during the last year. The company significantly reduced its operating costs and sold assets to steer through the pandemic. Even then, its stock lost about 60 percent of its value during 2020.

The Houston, Texas-based oil and gas producer on Monday delivered another disappointing quarter. OXY shares slipped nearly 2 percent in the mid-day trading Tuesday as fourth-quarter results fell short of expectations.

Occidental reported a loss of $1.41 per share for the three months ended Dec. 31, slightly narrower than a loss of $1.50 per share in the comparable period of 2019. On an adjusted basis, the company posted a loss of 78 cents per share, wider than a loss of 59 cents per share projected by analysts. Revenue came in at $4.16 billion, well below $6.63 billion in the year-ago quarter. Analysts on average were expecting OXY to post revenue of $4.32 billion.

Speaking on the results, CEO Vicki Hollub said in a statement, “We remain committed to strengthening our balance sheet and transitioned into 2021 with an improved financial position by achieving our 2020 divestiture target, reducing debt and successfully extending debt maturities.”