ExxonMobil sets record in quarterly net, $14.8B
31.10.2008 10:03
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- Source: toledoblade.com
HOUSTON - ExxonMobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company, reported earnings yesterday that shattered its own record for the biggest profit by a U.S. corporation. It made $14.8 billion in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Marathon Oil Corp., which has offices in Findlay, said its third-quarter profit more than doubled, lifted by higher oil and natural gas prices and increased sales. Exxon said profit jumped nearly 58 percent to $2.86 a share in the July-September period. That compares with $9.4 billion, or $1.70 a share, a year ago. The previous record for U.S. corporate profit was set in the last quarter, when ExxonMobil earned $11.68 billion. Revenue rose 35 percent in the third quarter to $137.7 billion. On average, analysts expected the company to earn $2.39 per share in the latest quarter on revenue of $131.4 billion. ExxonMobil's results got a boost of $1.6 billion in the most recent quarter from the sale of a natural gas transportation business in Germany. It also took a special after-tax charge of $170 million for a punitive-damages award related to the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. Excluding those items, third-quarter earnings were $13.4 billion - nearly 15 percent above its previous profit record from the second quarter. ExxonMobil rose 40 cents to $75.05 in New York Stock Exchange trading. The stock has dropped 20 percent this year, heading for its worst decline since 1981. Setting U.S. profit records has become commonplace for the oil giant. If one-time gains like bankruptcy settlements and spinoffs are stripped away from other companies, ExxonMobil owns the record for the top 10 most-profitable quarters for a U.S. company, as well as the largest annual profit. United Airlines' UAL Corp. reported first-quarter profit of $22.9 billion in 2006, but that reflected a bankruptcy settlement. The airline would have posted a $306 million loss if those gains were stripped out. Oil producers are coming off a quarter during which crude prices reached an all-time high of $147.27 - and their profits have reflected it. Marathon, the fourth-largest U.S. oil company, said yesterday that earnings for the three months ended Sept. 30 were $2.1 billion, or $2.90 a share, compared with $1 billion, or $1.49 a share, during the same period a year earlier. Total revenue rose 38 percent to $23.5 billion. Exxon Mobil, Chevron Corp., and ConocoPhillips are the three largest U.S. oil companies. Marathon will trim spending by more than 15 percent next year "as a prudent approach to the current business environment," Chief Executive Officer Clarence Cazalot said in a statement. Marathon closed $2.09 higher at $27.73 yesterday in New York Stock Exchange trading.
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