Occidental Rebounds From Losses

Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s results improved in the fourth quarter, but much of its effort to cut costs was offset by lower crude prices, the company said.

The Los Angeles-based firm reported a net income of $57 million, or 15 cents a share, in the three months ended Dec. 31. A year earlier, the company lost $588 million, or $1.94 a share. Sales fell to $2.02 billion from $2.315 billion.

The net income figures for both periods were skewed by one-time gains and losses associated with getting out of the coal business.

For the full year, Occidental reported net income of $283 million, or 80 cents a share, on sales of $8.12 billion. In 1992, the company lost $594 million, or $1.97 a share, on sales of $8.49 billion.