Portal
Home
Calendar
Gallery
FAQ
Search
Register
Log inExxon's profit earns no plaudits
Page 1 of 1•
Exxon's profit earns no plaudits
by Outspoken on Fri Aug 01, 2008 4:22 am
Exxon's profit earns no plaudits
Consumers feel gouged, and Wall Street wonders why record net earnings weren't even bigger.
The Associated Press
HOUSTON — Exxon Mobil reported the fattest operating profit in U.S. corporate history Thursday, and then took a beating -- from politicians railing against Big Oil, drivers bleeding cash at the pump and investors who expected more.
The world's largest publicly traded oil company turned a profit of $11.7 billion for the second quarter, lifted mostly by meteoric crude prices. Its earnings were up 14 percent from a year ago.
Total sales: $138 billion -- roughly the gross domestic product of Hungary.
Henry Hubble, Exxon Mobil's vice president for investor relations, said the record profits "highlight the quality of our integrated business model and disciplined investment approach."
For the most part, the plaudits ended there.
Despite their heft, Exxon's profits were a disappointment on Wall Street, and the company's stock slumped nearly 5 percent. In a letter to the five largest international oil companies released Thursday, some House and Senate Democrats demanded that oil companies spend more of their profits on U.S. production and renewable energy and less buying back their own stock.
"Given today's strong market incentive for expanding exploration and production, we can only believe that reinvesting your vast profits into the production of more oil and natural gas in the United States is a profitable strategy that will help our country decrease its dependence on foreign oil," said the letter from Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and Reps. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., and Ed Markey, D-Mass.
Almost the entire energy industry was walloped by investors Thursday.
European rival Royal Dutch Shell posted its own record profit across the Atlantic, with earnings of $11.6 billion. Its American depository receipts tumbled nearly 4 percent in afternoon trading.
Growing investor apprehension can be found at the heart of what the oil industry does -- finding and producing oil and natural gas.
Exxon Mobil's overall output fell 8 percent in the second quarter from a year ago -- a significant blow for a company that generates more than two-thirds of its earnings from oil and gas production.
For Exxon Mobil, which produces 3 percent of the world's oil, finding new deposits of hydrocarbons is getting harder and harder. State-run oil companies like those in Saudi Arabia and Venezuela control about 80 percent of known global oil reserves. It's difficult if not impossible for Exxon and its competitors to get any part of that oil.
"It all comes down to production," said Brian Youngberg, an analyst with financial services firm Edward Jones. "This is the second straight quarter production came in below expectations. Investors are going to be questioning when they can turn that around."
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=202552&ac=PHnws
The Associated Press
Consumers feel gouged, and Wall Street wonders why record net earnings weren't even bigger.
The Associated Press
HOUSTON — Exxon Mobil reported the fattest operating profit in U.S. corporate history Thursday, and then took a beating -- from politicians railing against Big Oil, drivers bleeding cash at the pump and investors who expected more.
The world's largest publicly traded oil company turned a profit of $11.7 billion for the second quarter, lifted mostly by meteoric crude prices. Its earnings were up 14 percent from a year ago.
Total sales: $138 billion -- roughly the gross domestic product of Hungary.
Henry Hubble, Exxon Mobil's vice president for investor relations, said the record profits "highlight the quality of our integrated business model and disciplined investment approach."
For the most part, the plaudits ended there.
Despite their heft, Exxon's profits were a disappointment on Wall Street, and the company's stock slumped nearly 5 percent. In a letter to the five largest international oil companies released Thursday, some House and Senate Democrats demanded that oil companies spend more of their profits on U.S. production and renewable energy and less buying back their own stock.
"Given today's strong market incentive for expanding exploration and production, we can only believe that reinvesting your vast profits into the production of more oil and natural gas in the United States is a profitable strategy that will help our country decrease its dependence on foreign oil," said the letter from Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and Reps. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., and Ed Markey, D-Mass.
Almost the entire energy industry was walloped by investors Thursday.
European rival Royal Dutch Shell posted its own record profit across the Atlantic, with earnings of $11.6 billion. Its American depository receipts tumbled nearly 4 percent in afternoon trading.
Growing investor apprehension can be found at the heart of what the oil industry does -- finding and producing oil and natural gas.
Exxon Mobil's overall output fell 8 percent in the second quarter from a year ago -- a significant blow for a company that generates more than two-thirds of its earnings from oil and gas production.
For Exxon Mobil, which produces 3 percent of the world's oil, finding new deposits of hydrocarbons is getting harder and harder. State-run oil companies like those in Saudi Arabia and Venezuela control about 80 percent of known global oil reserves. It's difficult if not impossible for Exxon and its competitors to get any part of that oil.
"It all comes down to production," said Brian Youngberg, an analyst with financial services firm Edward Jones. "This is the second straight quarter production came in below expectations. Investors are going to be questioning when they can turn that around."
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=202552&ac=PHnws
The Associated Press
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
