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Exxon Mobil 3Q Profit Swells on Prices
By Associated Press
35 minutes ago
IRVING, Texas - Exxon Mobil Corp., the largest publicly traded oil company in the world, on Thursday said third-quarter profit surged, buoyed by higher crude-oil and natural-gas prices, even as the period's hurricanes hampered production.
Net income ballooned to $9.92 billion, or $1.58 per share, from $5.68 billion, or 88 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding certain items, earnings were $8.3 billion, or $1.32 per share, versus $6.23 billion, or 96 cents per share, in the 2004 quarter.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, predicted earnings excluding items of $1.38 per share.
Revenue grew to $100.72 billion from $76.38 billion in the prior-year period.
The hurricanes slashed U.S. production volumes by 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down nearly 5 percent year-over-year, costing the company $45 million before taxes, Exxon Mobil said. Total daily production slipped to 2.45 million barrels of oil equivalent from 2.51 million barrels.
"Following the hurricanes, Exxon Mobil maximized gasoline production from all of our refineries which were operating in the U.S., and increased imports from overseas affiliates to meet U.S. demand," said Chairman Lee R. Raymond.
Earnings from U.S. upstream operations increased by $498 million to $1.67 billion, while U.S. downstream earnings jumped $548 million to $1.11 billion. In the U.S. and abroad, income from the company's chemicals segment declined by $537 million to $472 million, as raw materials costs squeezed margins.
The company cautioned that reduced volumes and higher costs will also hurt the fourth quarter.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.




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