Occidental Petroleum Corp. reported solid second quarter profit thanks in part to gains from asset sales. Shares slipped nearly 2 percent Tuesday, however.

Oxy reported second quarter net income of $1.41 billion ($1.68 per share), a 64 percent gain from $860 million (99 cents) from the same period a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting earnings of $1.10 per share.

The most recent quarter included gains of $419 million (50 cents) from the sale of certain assets such as mineral interests. The results were also bolstered by a $284 million pre-tax gain from the sale of 18.6 million shares. The year-earlier quarter included a loss of $347 million (40 cents), on asset write-offs.

Revenue for the Los Angeles-based oil company was nearly equal with the previous years at $4.4 billion ahead of Wall Street’s expectations of $3.9 billion.

The company also announced that it had extended its employment contract with Chief Executive Ray Irani, 72, until 2015. Irani’s existing contract wasn’t set to expire for more than two years.

However, the new contract puts Irani’s service well beyond the company’s stated age limit of 75 for board members.

Shares in Oxy fell $1.16, or 1.9 percent, to $60.21 in afternoon trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.