ExxonMobil 1Q Up on Slightly Improved Margins

First quarter earnings for Exxon Mobil Corp. rose 1 percent earning $9.5 billion, while earnings per share increased 6 percent and capital and exploration expenditures were up 33 percent, compared to a year earlier.  

Quarterly profit increased due to higher earnings in its chemical business but oil and gas production decreased, the company said in a conference call with reporters Thursday. On an all oil-equivalent basis, production fell 3.5 percent from the first quarter of 2012; and excluding the impacts of entitlement volumes, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries  quote effects and divestments, production decreased 1.2 percent, the company added.

ExxonMobil's total production in the quarter averaged 4.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, declining 3.5 percent from the same quarter a year ago.

"ExxonMobil achieved strong results during the first quarter of 2013, while investing significantly to develop new energy supplies," commented ExxonMobil's Chairman Rex W. Tillerson in a press release. "ExxonMobil's financial performance enables continued investment to deliver the energy needed to help meet growing demand, support economic growth, and raise living standards around the world."

The company boosted its quarterly dividend by 11 percent to $.63/share, but trimmed 2Q 2013 share repurchase to $4 billion, analysts at Oppenheimer noted.

"As the largest publicly traded oil and gas company, [ExxonMobil] has long been a core holding for investors seeking a defensive investment with continued dividend growth," added Oppenheimer. "Low volatility, financial strength, capital discipline, operating efficiency and strong management are its most attractive characteristics, in our view. Barring an unlikely major acquisition, we don't see any catalyst in the next 12 months that could lift share performance above the S&P 500." 

With more than 10 years of journalism experience, Robin Dupre specializes in the offshore sector of the oil and gas industry. Email Robin at rdupre@rigzone.com.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

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ExxonMobil 1Q Up on Slightly Improved Margins

First quarter earnings for Exxon Mobil Corp. rose 1 percent earning $9.5 billion, while earnings per share increased 6 percent and capital and exploration expenditures were up 33 percent, compared to a year earlier.  

Quarterly profit increased due to higher earnings in its chemical business but oil and gas production decreased, the company said in a conference call with reporters Thursday. On an all oil-equivalent basis, production fell 3.5 percent from the first quarter of 2012; and excluding the impacts of entitlement volumes, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries  quote effects and divestments, production decreased 1.2 percent, the company added.

ExxonMobil's total production in the quarter averaged 4.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, declining 3.5 percent from the same quarter a year ago.

"ExxonMobil achieved strong results during the first quarter of 2013, while investing significantly to develop new energy supplies," commented ExxonMobil's Chairman Rex W. Tillerson in a press release. "ExxonMobil's financial performance enables continued investment to deliver the energy needed to help meet growing demand, support economic growth, and raise living standards around the world."

The company boosted its quarterly dividend by 11 percent to $.63/share, but trimmed 2Q 2013 share repurchase to $4 billion, analysts at Oppenheimer noted.

"As the largest publicly traded oil and gas company, [ExxonMobil] has long been a core holding for investors seeking a defensive investment with continued dividend growth," added Oppenheimer. "Low volatility, financial strength, capital discipline, operating efficiency and strong management are its most attractive characteristics, in our view. Barring an unlikely major acquisition, we don't see any catalyst in the next 12 months that could lift share performance above the S&P 500." 

With more than 10 years of journalism experience, Robin Dupre specializes in the offshore sector of the oil and gas industry. Email Robin at rdupre@rigzone.com.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

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CNOOC 2012 Net Profit Falls 9.3%; Slightly Below Analysts' View

HONG KONG - CNOOC Ltd., which completed its acquisition of Canada's Nexen Inc. last month, Friday posted a 9.3% fall in 2012 net profit, a decline that was largely anticipated because of rising operating costs and higher resources tax expenses.

CNOOC, China's largest publicly traded offshore oil-and-gas producer by capacity, posted a net profit of 63.69 billion yuan (US $10.3 billion) in 2012, down from CNY70.26 billion the previous year. The figure was slightly below the average CNY64.86 billion net profit forecast of 32 analysts polled earlier by Thomson Reuters.

Revenue rose 2.8% to CNY247.63 billion from CNY240.94 billion on higher oil and gas sales.

China's state-run CNOOC and its parent China National Offshore Oil Corp. have been the most aggressive among Chinese oil giants in terms of acquiring overseas shale gas and oil assets. Since 2011, the two have spent over US $24.8 billion on overseas upstream assets, mostly in Africa, Australia and Canada.

The Nexen acquisition, China's largest single overseas investment, is vital for CNOOC's long-term growth and energy security, as its oil-and-gas output growth has been slowing since 2011 due to maturing fields.

"We strongly believe that the acquisition of Nexen conforms to our development strategy and will bring long-term benefits to our shareholders," CNOOC Chairman Wang Yilin said Friday.

The company proposed a final dividend of HK$0.32, up from HK$0.28 a year earlier.

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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