Investing.com -- Chevron (NYSE:CVX) has reported higher-than-expected earnings in the first quarter, as stronger performance in the U.S. oil major's refining operations helped it overcome a recent decrease in oil prices.
Adjusted earnings per share for the three months ended on March 31 grew to $3.55, up from $3.36 in the same period last year. Bloomberg consensus estimates had placed the figure at $3.38 a share.
Underpinning this return was Chevron's downstream division, which oversees the conversion of crude oil and natural gas into finished products. Higher margins boosted profits at the unit to $1.8 billion, a more than five-fold increase year-on-year.
But the upstream business - responsible for oil and gas production - saw its income slip by more than a fourth to $5.16B, missing projections of $5.17B.
Sales and other revenues also slipped to $48.8B, down from $52.3B a year ago. Chevron said this was primarily due to lower commodity prices. Global oil benchmark Brent crude has been trading at an average of $82 a barrel over the first quarter of 2023, according to Reuters data, decreasing by more than a sixth from 2022.
Chevron held just under $15.7B in cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, the company said, while free cash flow of $4.2B came in far above its five-year average. Energy firms are keeping more cash on hand in the event of an economic downturn and future consolidation in the oil industry.
Shares in Chevron inched slightly lower in premarket U.S. trading on Friday.