Occidental Petroleum Corp. on Thursday said its first-quarter earnings soared 46 percent as oil prices rose and the company increased production.

The Los Angeles oil and natural gas producer reported net income of $1.55 billion ($1.90 per share), compared with $1.06 billion ($1.31) a year earlier. Revenue rose 24 percent to more than $5.73 billion.

Excluding discontinued operations, Occidental saw per-share profit of $1.96. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average expected per-share profit of $1.80 on revenue of $5.17 billion.

The company noted that crude oil prices increased 24 percent to $92.14 per barrel during the quarter, and natural gas liquids prices rose 11 percent to $52.64 per barrel. Natural gas prices were down 25 percent to $4.21 per 1,000 cubic feet. The company’s overall production volumes increased more than 4 percent, primarily from higher production of natural gas liquids, a new gas field in South Texas, new oil production in Iraq and higher volumes from the Mukhaizna field in Oman.

Shares closed up $2.13, or 2 percent, to $105.13 on the New York Stock Exchange.