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Exxon Mobil shares sink as oil giant’s quarterly profits badly miss expectations

Exxon Mobil reported that first-quarter profits fell nearly 50% from a year ago, hit by poor results in its refining and chemicals segments. Read more...

Exxon Mobil reported on Friday that its first-quarter profits fell nearly 50% from a year ago, hit by poor results in its refining and chemicals segments.

Shares of the Irving, Texas-based oil major were down about 2% in premarket trading.

Exxon reported a quarterly loss in its downstream business, which focuses on refining oil into fuels like gasoline and diesel. Profits in the chemicals business also tumbled $219 million from a year ago.

The oil major’s output of crude, natural gas and other fossil fuels reached 4 million barrels of oil equivalent, up 2% from the same period last year. Still, income in the upstream exploration and production unit fell by $621 million from last year.

“Solid operating performance in the first quarter helped mitigate the impact of challenging Downstream and Chemical margin environments,” Exxon Chairman and CEO Darren Woods said in a statement.

Here’s how the company did compared with what Wall Street expected:

  • Earnings: 55 cents per share vs. 70 cents per share forecast by Refinitiv
  • Revenue: $63.63 billion vs. $64.82 billion forecast by Refinitiv

Analysts will be on watch to see if Exxon can continue to increase its oil and natural gas production after the energy giant broke a streak of declining output last quarter. Wall Street thinks Exxon will report that it pumped just over 4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, according to StreetAccount.

Last month, Exxon announced plans to hike oil and gas production from the Permian Basin by 80 percent, with a goal of pumping 1 million boe per day as soon as 2024. The Permian is the top U.S. shale oil region, stretching across western Texas and southeastern New Mexico.

Exxon’s refining operations have also been in focus. In recent quarters, a heavy slate of refinery maintenance has weighed on profits in the downstream segment, which processes oil into fuels like gasoline and diesel. Management warned last quarter that will likely continue in first-quarter results.

On Wednesday, Exxon raised its quarterly dividend by 5 cents to 87 cents per share.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

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