Exxon Mobil breaks its own profit record
Christine Seib in New York
Exxon Mobil broke its own record for stratospheric US company profits, reporting $45.2 billion in full-year earnings for 2008.
The Texan oil company had set the previous record for annual profit when it revealed $40.6 billion earnings for 2007.
Last year's record earnings came despite a 33 per cent fall in profits in the fourth quarter as the price of crude oil plunged by 60 per cent.
Crude hit a peak of $150 a barrel in July but has since plummeted by about 70 per cent amid the global financial crisis.
Exxon, the world's biggest publicly-traded oil company, said that net income dropped 33 per cent to $7.8 billion in the three months to December 31.
Lower crude prices meant that income from the company's exploration and production operations fell 31 per cent to $5.6 billion.
Exxon's chemicals division reported an 85 per cent slump in net earnings to $115 million in the fourth quarter. The company blamed lower margins and volumes and the cost of making hurricane repairs to the business.
The refining and marketing operations reported a 6 per cent rise in profits to $2.4 billion on the back of improved margins.
Despite the tough fourth quarter, the figures topped forecasts, with earnings of $1.55 per share, compared with analysts' predictions of $1.45 per share on average.
Shares in Exxon, which produces about 3 per cent of the world's oil, were up 2.2 per cent at $78.70 just before 10am.
Chevron, America's second biggest oil company, said today that it made a $4.9 billion profit in the fourth quarter, up 1 per cent on a one-off $600 million gain made from an asset exchange.
The Californian company made $23.9 billion in the full year, up from $18.7 billion in 2007.
Christine Seib in New York
Exxon Mobil broke its own record for stratospheric US company profits, reporting $45.2 billion in full-year earnings for 2008.
The Texan oil company had set the previous record for annual profit when it revealed $40.6 billion earnings for 2007.
Last year's record earnings came despite a 33 per cent fall in profits in the fourth quarter as the price of crude oil plunged by 60 per cent.
Crude hit a peak of $150 a barrel in July but has since plummeted by about 70 per cent amid the global financial crisis.
Exxon, the world's biggest publicly-traded oil company, said that net income dropped 33 per cent to $7.8 billion in the three months to December 31.
Lower crude prices meant that income from the company's exploration and production operations fell 31 per cent to $5.6 billion.
Exxon's chemicals division reported an 85 per cent slump in net earnings to $115 million in the fourth quarter. The company blamed lower margins and volumes and the cost of making hurricane repairs to the business.
The refining and marketing operations reported a 6 per cent rise in profits to $2.4 billion on the back of improved margins.
Despite the tough fourth quarter, the figures topped forecasts, with earnings of $1.55 per share, compared with analysts' predictions of $1.45 per share on average.
Shares in Exxon, which produces about 3 per cent of the world's oil, were up 2.2 per cent at $78.70 just before 10am.
Chevron, America's second biggest oil company, said today that it made a $4.9 billion profit in the fourth quarter, up 1 per cent on a one-off $600 million gain made from an asset exchange.
The Californian company made $23.9 billion in the full year, up from $18.7 billion in 2007.
