US oil giant Chevron has come out of the fourth quarter better than expected.

Although earnings fell, the decline was somewhat smaller than analysts had anticipated, according to Bloomberg News.

Adjusted earnings per share in Q4 amounted to USD 3.45, which was more than the USD 3.22 per share that analysts had predicted. In the fourth quarter of the previous year, adjusted earnings per share amounted to USD 4.09.

At the same time, Chevron has proposed to increase the dividend to shareholders by almost 8% to USD 1.63 per share, which exceeds dividend expectations of USD 1.57.

Chevron’s revenue and other income in the fourth quarter was lower than expected, reaching USD 47.18bn against expectations of USD 51.2bn.

Part of the disappointment comes from the part of the business that is involved in finding, extracting and producing oil and gas - also known as upstream.

The business contributed earnings of USD 1.59bn - down 71% year-on-year - against expectations of USD 4.55bn.

However, investors take note of the adjusted earnings per share and, not least, the prospect of a higher dividend, sending Chevron’s shares up 1.4% in the premarket.