Record profits for big oil companies - by John Harding
Exxon Mobil Corp., the largest publicly listed company in the world, reported the highest quarterly earnings for an American company in history Thursday.Exxon, which owns about 78 per cent of Canada's oldest oil company, Imperial Oil Ltd., said profit in the second quarter climbed 14 per cent to $11.68 billion US. Exxon's net income was $2.22 US per share compared to $10.26 billion US, or $1.83 US per share last year. Excluding an after-tax charge of $290 million US related to an Exxon Valdez legal settlement, Exxon's second quarter earnings were a whopping $11.97 billion, or $2.27 a share.
The results from the Irving-Tex.,-based company mirrored those of other integrated players as upstream profits surged but downstream earnings plummeted, driven by lower worldwide refining margins. Exxon's upstream earnings in the quarter were a company record $10 billion, up from about $6 billion in the same quarter last year while downstream earnings of $1.55 billion fell by $1.9 billion compared to last year. Exxon rival Royal Dutch Shell also released earnings Thursday, saying net income rose to $11.56 billion US, or $1.87 a share, from $8.67 billion, or $1.38, a year earlier. Earnings from both global super majors fell short of analyst expectations, a result of falling production.
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