Jan 29, 2021 - Economy

Chevron posts another quarterly loss under weight of pandemic

Ben Geman

a chevron sign — Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Chevron posted another quarterly loss Friday in the latest sign of how the pandemic is still weighing on oil companies despite some price recovery during the second half of the year.

Driving the news: The oil giant reported a $665 million loss for the October-December period, but it shrinks to $11 million on an adjusted basis after considering charges on its acquisition of Noble Energy and "foreign currency effects."

The company is grappling with how the pandemic has sapped demand for motor and jet fuels.
Losses from its refined products division weighed on the results as the company cited lower margins on sales and lower sales volumes.

What they're saying: "2020 was a year like no other," CEO Mike Wirth said in a statement.

But he touted the company's moves to address the crisis with steep capital spending reductions and lower operating costs.
"We were well positioned when the pandemic and economic crisis hit, and we exited the year with a strong balance sheet," Wirth said.

Yes, but: Chevron's stock ticked down over 2% in trading this morning. "The California oil titan lost a penny per share during the fourth quarter, compared with the Bloomberg Consensus for a 7-cent profit," Bloomberg notes.

What's next: A fuller picture of how the pandemic is still affecting Big Oil will emerge next week when ExxonMobil, Shell and BP report their Q4 results.

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Chevron posts another quarterly loss under weight of pandemic

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