10:20 AM EDT, 04/26/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Chevron's ( CVX ) first-quarter results declined on a yearly basis amid reduced margins on refined product sales and lower natural gas realizations.

The oil giant on Friday posted adjusted earnings of $2.93 a share for the March quarter, down from $3.55 the year before, but ahead of the Capital IQ-polled consensus of $2.90. Total revenue decreased to $48.72 billion from $50.79 billion, compared with the Street's view for $50.71 billion.

"We had another quarter of strong operational and financial performance and delivered superior cash returns to shareholders," Chief Executive Mike Wirth said in a statement. "US production was up 35% from a year ago, and we continued to meet major project milestones."

Earnings in the upstream segment increased to $5.24 billion from $5.16 billion in the 2023 quarter. US upstream earnings rose to $2.08 billion from almost $1.78 billion mainly due to higher sales volumes, while international earnings slipped to $3.16 billion from $3.38 billion weighed down by lower natural gas realizations.

In the downstream segment, earnings dropped to $453 million in the US from $977 million year-over-year due to lower margins on refined product sales and higher operating expenses from planned shutdowns. International downstream earnings were also lower year over year.

Chevron's ( CVX ) global oil-equivalent production advanced to 3.35 million barrels per day from 2.98 million barrels a year earlier, ahead of the 3.31 million-barrel estimate modeled by analysts. US production grew to 1.57 million barrels a day from 1.17 million barrels, partly boosted by its acquisition of PDC Energy last year. International output slid 39,000 barrels a day to 1.77 million barrels due to a planned turnaround in Nigeria and normal field declines.

Total costs and other deductions fell to $40.79 billion from $41.27 billion in the prior-year quarter.

Price: 164.15, Change: -1.13, Percent Change: -0.68