Occidental Petroleum Corp. reported a net loss of $2.2 billion as the
energy producer struggles with an oil glut generated in part by falling
demand as consumers stay home amid the spread of the new coronavirus.
The loss for the first quarter equated to $2.49 on a per-share
basis. After adjustments, oil company reported a loss of 52 cents a
share, or 9 cents better than what analysts predicted, according to
FactSet.
Occidental said pre-tax profit was hurt
by $1.4 billion of impairment charges related to its equity investment
in Western Midstream Partners LP and equity losses from the midstream
company's own impairments of goodwill.
The company said Tuesday it is moving to further cut costs.
"We have identified an additional $1.2 billion in operating and
corporate cost savings and reduced our full-year capital budget to
between $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion," Occidental Chief Executive Vicki
Hollub said in a statement.
In March, the company said it would lower capital spending for the year to between $2.7 billion and $2.9 billion.
Occidental is exploring ways to lower its roughly $40 billion
debt load, hiring investment bank Moelis & Co. for advice on easing
that burden, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Tuesday.
Last year, Occidental acquired Anadarko Petroleum Corp. in a
$38 million deal, a transaction that now appears ill-timed given the
dynamics roiling the global crude market.
Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com
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