Exxon Mobil profit up, hoisted by oil prices

www.forbes.com Reuters, 01.30.03, 7:58 AM ET

IRVING, Texas (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp. , the world's No. 1 publicly-traded oil company, Thursday said fourth-quarter profit rose, as sharply higher oil and gas prices boosted exploration and production results. The Irving, Texas company reported fourth-quarter net income of $4.09 billion, or 60 cents a share, compared with net income of $2.68 billion, or 39 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding special items, the company reported earnings per share of 56 cents, helped by the sharp rise in oil prices due to expectations of a U.S. war in Iraq and a labor strike in Venezuela. Analysts had forecast earnings of 45 cents to 53 cents a share, with a consensus estimate of 50 cents a share, according to research firm Thomson First Call. Shares of Exxon Mobil, a component of the Dow Jones industrial average, closed Wednesday trade on the New York Stock Exchange at $33.85. During the quarter, they rose almost 10 percent, outperforming the Standard & Poor's Integrated Oil & Gas index which increased 5 percent in the same period.