P.M. BRIEFING : Occidental’s Profit Down 50%

Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s first-quarter profit was 50% below last year’s level, the company reported today, but the difference was attributed to one-time gains from a stock sale and a pension fund in the earlier period.

Los Angeles-based Occidental said it earned $67 million, or 24 cents a share, in the first quarter, down from $113 million, or 52 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales were $5.14 billion, up from $4.48 billion in the first quarter of 1988.

Excluding one-time items, first-quarter profit would have been about 50% above last year’s level, said Armand Hammer, Occidental’s chairman and chief executive. Operating profit was $394 million, down from $436 million a year earlier.