Oil producer Occidental Petroleum Corp. on Tuesday said profits rose 64 percent in the second quarter on gains from the sale of noncore assets, REPORTED AP. Net income rose to $1.41 billion (¤1.02 billion), or $1.68 per share, compared with $860 million, or 99 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue fell slightly to $4.41 billion (¤3.19 billion) from $4.47 billion. The most recent quarter included gains of $419 million (¤303 million), or 50 cents per share, on asset sales such as mineral interests, and a $284 million pre-tax gain from the sale of 18.6 million shares. The year-earlier quarter included a loss of $347 million, or 40 cents per share, on asset write-offs. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial on average expected earnings of $1.10 per share on sales of $3.84 billion in the quarter. By year end, the company said it should be producing at a rate of 630,000 to 650,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
