Chevron Quarterly Profit Drops 30% on Cheap Oil

Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), the second-largest U.S. oil producer, said on Friday its quarterly profit fell 30 percent due to plunging crude prices.

The company posted fourth-quarter net income of $3.47 billion, or $1.85 per share, compared with $4.93 billion, or $2.57 per share, in the year-ago period.

Foreign currency conversion charges dented earnings by $432 million, Chevron said.

Production between the quarters held steady at 2.58 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd).

Shares of the San Ramon, Calif.-based company are down about 22 percent in the past six months, closing Thursday at $103 per share.

(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder, Editing by Franklin Paul)