The logo of Dow Jones Industrial Average stock market index listed company Exxon Mobil is seen in Encinitas, California, U.S., April 4, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
HOUSTON: Exxon Mobil Corp, the world’s largest publicly traded oil producer, posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday helped by rising crude prices and lower costs.
The results reflected the slow and steady improvement in the global oil and gas industry as commodity prices inch higher after a two-year rout.
The quarterly report was Exxon’s first under chief executive officer Darren Woods. Rex Tillerson, the former CEO, has been nominated by US President Donald Trump to be secretary of state and is awaiting confirmation.
Exxon took a US$2bil (RM8.85bil) charge to write down the value of Rocky Mountain natural gas assets, a rare move for a company that typically eschews such accounting methodologies.
Fourth-quarter earnings fell to US$1.68bil (RM7.44bil), or 41 cents per share, from US$2.78bil (RM12.31bil), or 67 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
Excluding the US$2bil writedown, Exxon earned 90 cents per share. By that measure, analysts expected 70 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Production fell 3% to 4.1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Exxon’s capital budget dropped 35% in the quarter to US$4.83bil (RM21.38bil).
Shares of Texas-based Exxon rose 0.2% to US$85.05 in premarket trading. - Reuters
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