Exxon Profit Rises Less Than Estimated; Output Drops

Oil and gas output tumbled 7.8 percent after Venezuela seized assets, Nigerian workers went on strike and governments from Angola to Russia kept more crude under contracts that give them a bigger share when prices rise. Crude climbed above $140 a barrel for the first time, allowing Exxon Mobil to achieve the highest profit ever for a U.S. company without one-time gains.

Net income rose to $11.7 billion, or $2.22 a share, from $10.3 billion, or $1.83, a year earlier, the Irving, Texas-based company said today in a statement. Excluding costs related to the Valdez oil-spill lawsuit, per-share profit was 26 cents below the average of 12 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

“They are not growing,” said Philip Weiss, an analyst at Argus Research in New York who rates Exxon Mobil shares “buy” and owns none. “Production is becoming more and more of a concern. For these guys, access to reserves is a very big issue.”

Bloomberg