Exxon's $8.6 billion profit beats as volume offsets price weakness
Output hits nearly 4.6 million barrels of oil and gas per day
Shareholder returns reach 20% with expanded dividend
HOUSTON, Nov. 1 (Reuters) -Exxon Mobil XOM.N on Friday beat Wall Street's third quarter profit estimate, boosted by strong oil output in its first full quarter that includes volumes from U.S. shale producer Pioneer Natural Resources.
Oil industry earnings have been squeezed this year by slowing demand and weak margins on gasoline and diesel. But Exxon's year-over-year profit fell 5%, a much smaller drop than at rivals BP BP.L and TotalEnergies TTEF.PA, which posted sharply lower quarterly results.
The U.S. oil producer reported income of $8.61 billion, down from $9.07 billion a year ago. Its $1.92 per share profit topped Wall Street's outlook of $1.88 per share, on higher oil and gas production and spending constraints.
"We had a number of production records" in the quarter, said finance chief Kathryn Mikells, citing an about 25% year-on-year increase in oil and gas output, to 4.6 million barrels per day.
Exxon earlier this month had flagged operating profit likely fell, leading Wall Street analysts to shave their quarterly per share earnings outlook by nearly a dime.
The results included Exxon's first full quarter of production following its acquisition in May of Pioneer Natural Resources. The $60 billion deal drove production in the top U.S. shale basin to nearly 1.4 million barrels per day of oil and gas, helping overcome a 17% decline in average oil prices in the quarter ended Sept. 30.
Exxon disclosed it raised its quarterly dividend by 4% after generating free cash flow of $11.3 billion, well above analysts' estimates. Rivals Saudi Aramco 2223.SE and Chevron have had to borrow this year to cover shareholder returns after boosting dividends and buybacks to attract investors.
Reporting by Gary McWilliams in Houston and Shariq Khan in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
