Occidental Revises, Lifts Profit

Occidental Petroleum Corp. said fourth-quarter profit was 12% higher than previously reported because of the increased value of its stake in Lyondell Chemical Co., according to a statement issued Tuesday.

Fourth-quarter net income was $742 million rather than the $665 million, or $1.64 a share, reported on Jan. 24, the Los Angeles company said. The profit almost doubled from $382 million a year earlier. The revised net income per diluted share will be provided in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, spokesman Larry Meriage said.

Profit was higher than initially reported because of the increased value of Occidental’s 17% stake in Houston-based Lyondell resulting from the chemical company’s $1.6-billion acquisition of Millennium Chemicals Inc. on Nov. 30, Occidental said.

Lyondell reported its fourth-quarter results last week.

Occidental received shares in Lyondell in exchange for its interest in Equistar Chemicals in January 2002.

Occidental has no plans to sell its Lyondell stake to finance projects in Libya as some analysts have speculated it might do, Meriage said, noting that the company “ended up the year with $1.4 billion cash on our balance sheet.”

On Jan. 29, Libya said Occidental, Amerada Hess Corp. and ChevronTexaco Corp. won the bulk of the drilling rights in the North African nation’s first auction in 40 years.

Occidental shares rose 52 cents to $60.57 on the New York Stock Exchange. The statement was issued after regular trading. Shares rose to $60.77 after hours.