Exxon Mobil profit nears $11 billion

By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/exxon- ... atest_news

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Exxon Mobil Corp. said Thursday that its first-quarter profit climbed 69% to almost $11 billon, beating Wall Street estimates, as $100-a-barrel crude prices boosted the oil company’s bottom line to levels not seen since 2008.

For the quarter, Exxon Mobil’s /quotes/comstock/13*!xom/quotes/nls/xom XOM -1.22% profit rose to $10.65 billion, or $2.14 a share, from $6.3 billion, or $1.33 a share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue rose to $114 billion from $90.3 billion.

The Irving, Texas-based company’s results topped analysts’ expectations of $2.04 a share in profit and revenue of $112.6 billion, according to a survey by FactSet Research.

Shares of Exxon fell 0.6% to $87.25.

It also marks Exxon’s highest profit since 2008, the last time oil traded at $100 a barrel. During that year, Exxon’s profit touched $14.83 billion in the third quarter and $11.68 billion in the second quarter.

Exxon said its first-quarter oil-equivalent production, which includes output of oil and gas, rose 10%, driven by its liquid natural gas project in Qatar and its unconventional gas business, boosted by its purchase of XTO Energy.

In the latest quarter, Exxon bought back $5 billion of stock, matching its forecast.

On Wednesday, Exxon’s share price topped $87 for the first time since July 2008, after the oil company said it would raise its quarterly dividend to 47 cents a share from 44 cents a share.

Exxon Mobil’s stock has been outperforming the broader market this year after oil prices surpassed $100 a barrel and investors bid up the shares in expectation of richer profits.

The optimism has been tempered as gasoline prices approach $4 a gallon and investors wonder about high fuel prices putting a damper on economic expansion. At the same time, geopolitical tensions continue around the globe, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.

/quotes/comstock/13*!xom/quotes/nls/xom Add XOM to portfolio XOM Exxon Mobil Corp $ 86.71 -1.07 -1.22% Volume: 3.46mApril 28, 2011 10:36a
Steve Gelsi is a reporter for MarketWatch in New York.