Earnings roundup: Chevron, KBR

Among the earnings stories for Friday, May 2, from AP Financial News:

Top stories:

NEW YORK (AP) _ Chevron reported Friday that profits rose 9 percent in the first quarter as higher oil prices made up for weakness on the refining and chemicals side of its business.

HOUSTON (AP) _ Military contractor and construction and engineering firm KBR Inc. said Friday that first-quarter profit more than tripled, helped by a gain from an arbitration award.

McLEAN, Va. (AP) _ The Washington Post Co. on Friday reported a 39 percent drop in first quarter profit, hurt by an early retirement program charge at Newsweek and a continued loss of revenue from its newspapers.

Other stories:

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. (AP) _ Online education company American Public Education Inc. said Friday its first-quarter profit more than doubled, beating Wall Street's expectations.

ST. LOUIS (AP) _ Utility Ameren Corp. said Friday its first-quarter earnings rose 12 percent, mostly because one-time charges hurt earnings in the year-ago period.

BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) _ Barnes Group Inc. said Friday its first-quarter profit rose 21 percent, helped by increased aerospace and industrial segment sales.

PLYMOUTH, Minn. (AP) _ Medical device maker ev3 Inc. reported a wider first-quarter loss on Friday, due to increased operating expenses and challenges integrating recently acquired FoxHollow Technologies Inc.

MCLEAN, Va. (AP) _ Business software maker MicroStrategy Inc. said Thursday its first-quarter profit declined, as increasing operating expenses overshadowed growth in product license revenue and support.