Oil giant Chevron announced on Sunday second-quarter earnings of $6bn, representing a drop from industry-wide record profits seen for the same period last year. However, the results beat analyst outlooks.

Adjusted earnings for the US company came in at $5.8bn. In an initial preview of the company’s results, Chevron cited increased production from its Permian Basin, which spans parts of West Texas and New Mexico, as a performance highlight, setting a new quarterly record of 772,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. This was "the highest quarter we've ever had in the Permian and 10% over the same quarter last year", CEO Michael Wirth said in an interview with Reuters on Sunday. The basin’s well performance is on track to match full-year estimates.

Quarterly shareholder distributions came in at a record $7.2bn. This includes dividends of $2.8bn and share repurchases of $4.4bn. The statement added that Chevron expects to close the deal on its acquisition of oil and gas company PDC energy in August this year. Wirth has signalled the company remains open to more acquisitions and to increased shareholder distributions this year, Reuters reports.

While its profits are almost half that of last year’s $11.6bn record, the $3.08-per-share adjusted profit beat analyst estimates.

"The macro price environment has softened a little bit versus the first quarter," Wirth said in the interview. "It is still a strong quarter.

"We had high levels of operating performance [and] very, very little unplanned downtime across our portfolio," he added.

Chevron also announced sweeping management changes on Sunday, including the retirement of its chief financial officer (CFO) Pierre Breber next year, as well as the extension of the minimum retirement age for its CEO. Breber will be replaced by the company’s current technology chief Eimear Bonner, who is set to become only the second female CFO in Chevron’s more than 140-year history.

Full results are expected to be published on Friday.