Chevron Net Falls 3.5% in 1984 to $1.53 Billion

Chevron Corp. reported net income for 1984 slipped 3.5%, while its fourth-quarter earnings rose 7.7% from the same period a year ago.

For all of 1984, the San Francisco-based oil company reported net income of $1.53 billion, down from 1983’s $1.59 billion. Revenue held steady at $29.2 billion.

The company spent a record $13.3 billion in 1984 to buy Gulf Corp. In 1984, the company also changed its name to Chevron from Standard Oil Co. of California.

George M. Keller, chairman of Chevron, said that, if crude oil prices continue to fall, earnings from oil production will suffer. Earnings from refined petroleum products already have been hurt.

The profit from refining and marketing operations fell 76.9% in 1984 to $75 million from $324 million a year earlier. And Chevron said it would have had a $230-million loss from those operations if it had not realized a profit of $310 million from the sale of oil inventories.

Chevron said financing costs related to the Gulf purchase totaled $541 million last year but that Gulf still contributed $40 million to its earnings.

For the final three months of 1984, Chevron reported profits of $434 million, up from $403 million a year earlier. Revenue fell 5.4% to $7 billion from $7.4 billion.