NEW YORK (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp said on Friday record oil prices boosted its fourth-quarter earnings to
$11.66 billion, the highest ever operating profit by a U.S. company.
Shares of the world's largest non-government-controlled oil company
rose 1.7 percent in before-the-bell trading as the results beat Wall
Street forecasts.
Net income rose nearly 14 percent from the year-earlier of $10.25 billion.
Earnings per share rose to $2.13 from $1.76 last year. Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $1.98 per share.
"They performed across the board, upstream, downstream, U.S. and
foreign," said James Halloran, who helps manage about $35 billion at
National City Private Client Group.
Revenue in the quarter rose to $116.64 billion from $90.03 billion in 2006.
Oil prices averaged more than $90 a barrel during the quarter and
nearly hit $100 due to tight supplies, geopolitical risks and the weak
dollar. They averaged just over $60 a barrel in the same period a year
earlier.
Profit margins from refining were relatively weak in the quarter as
gasoline prices failed to keep pace with oil prices that soared to
record levels.
Since the beginning of last year, shares of Exxon are up about 13
percent, underperforming the Chicago Board Options Exchange's oil
index, which is up about 21 percent.
(Reporting by Michael Erman, editing by Dave Zimmerman)
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