US oil giant ExxonMobil shook off economic troubles and hurricanes to post a record third-quarter profit of US$14.83 billion, up 58 percent from a year ago, the company said on Thursday.
The latest report pushed up profits for the first nine months of this year to US$37.4 billion, putting the biggest oil and gas company on track for another record year for earnings.
The results translated to profits of US$2.86 per share, or US$2.59 excluding special items, ahead of market expectations of US$2.39.
Revenue from July to September jumped 34 percent to US$13.73 billion, the Irvine, Texas-based company said.
Third-quarter earnings — excluding special items of US$1.45 billion — were a record US$13.38 billion, up 42 percent from the third quarter last year.
“ExxonMobil’s strong results in the third quarter of 2008 demonstrate the continued success of our disciplined business approach,” chairman Rex Tillerson said.
“Despite the continuing uncertainty in world financial markets, ExxonMobil has maintained a strong financial position,” he said.
The July to September financial results included the impacts of hurricanes Gustav and Ike, which rocked US Gulf Coast operations. Most of the operations shuttered by the storms are back on line or are in the final phases of start-up.
“We responded quickly and effectively to maximize supplies of gasoline and other products to the marketplace,” Tillerson said.
Tillerson said full-year capital and exploration investments were expected to reach some US$25 billion, in line with its guidance.
Those investments rose to US$6.9 billion in the third quarter, up 26 percent from a year ago. For the first nine months, they amounted to US$19.3 billion.
“Through these investments we continue to make a substantial contribution to employment and economic activity in the countries in which we operate,” Tillerson said.
Exxon Mobil said it bought 109 million shares of its common stock in the quarter at a cost of US$8.7 billion. Roughly US$8 billion of that amount was dedicated to reducing the number of shares outstanding; the balance was used to offset shares issued as part of the company’s benefit plans.
Shares in ExxonMobil, the biggest US company by capitalization, were down 2.2 percent at US$73.02 in afternoon trade.
Underscoring the demand worries was news that the US economy, the world’s biggest energy consumer, shrank 0.3 percent in the third quarter and appeared heading into a deep recession.
“Although consumers and politicians are likely to display outrage that Exxon is posting such massive earnings during a time of economic unrest, the company faces significant headwinds going forward,” Briefing.com analysts wrote in a client note.
“Crude oil prices are down 54 percent since July and oil production has declined, which will likely lead to lower profit and revenue in the coming quarters,” they said.
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