NEW YORK (Reuters)- Exxon Mobil Corp said on Thursday soaring oil prices pushed itssecond-quarter earnings up 14 percent, again breaking its own recordfor the highest-ever profit by a U.S. company.
Net income in the quarter rose to $11.68 billion, or $2.22 a share, from $10.26 billion, or $1.83 a share, last year.
Exxon — the world’s largest publicly traded company — previouslyset the high-water mark for quarterly earnings in the fourth quarter oflast year, when it brought in $11.66 billion.
Despite the new record, Exxon’s results lagged behind analyst expectations.
The company posted operating earnings of $2.27 a share in thequarter, which exclude a $290 million charge related to the recentSupreme Court ruling in the Exxon Valdez case. Analysts, on average,had expected the company to earn $2.53 a share, according to ReutersEstimates.
Revenue in the quarter rose about 40 percent to $138.07 billion.
Exxon both produces oil and refines it to make gasoline, and profitmargins for gasoline were weak during the quarter, holding backearnings slightly.
The company said earnings from its exploration and productionbusiness rose about 68 percent to $10.01 billion. But its refining andmarketing earnings fell about 54 percent to $1.56 billion.
U.S. oil prices averaged slightly less than $125 a barrel in thequarter, nearly double prices from a year earlier. Gasoline prices onlyrose 25 percent during that same period, resulting in weak profitmargins for the fuel.
Shares of Exxon Mobil fell 2.2 percent in pre-market trade after itsearnings were announced. Through Wednesday’s close, they were downabout 10 percent this year, underperforming the Chicago Board OptionsExchange’s oil index, which has fallen about 5.2 percent over the sameperiod.
(Reporting by Michael Erman, editing by Dave Zimmerman)
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