BBC News UK

Exxon Mobil, the world's biggest oil company, has announced a threefold jump in profits, crediting a sharp rise in global crude oil prices

The company said pre-tax profits for the first three months of 2003 came in at $7.04bn (£4.4bn ; EUR6.3bn), up from $2.1bn dollars during the same period last year.

The result was Exxon's best ever over three months, beating its previous record of $5.2bn in the final quarter of 2001.

Shares in Exxon - which sells fuel under the Esso brand - were up 1.3% at $35.66 in early trade on Wall Street.

Supply uncertainty

The company's strong performance reflected a recent rally in crude oil prices amid fears that the war in Iraq, an oil workers' strike in Venezuela, and civil unrest in Nigeria would disrupt global supplies.

Exxon's bottom line received a further boost from the sale of its stake in German natural gas distributor Ruhrgas AG.

Exxon's revenues for the first three months of the year also rose sharply, climbing to $63.8bn from $43.4bn one year ago.

Other oil companies have also benefited from the rally in world oil prices, with the UK's BP unveiling a record first-quarter profit of $3.7bn earlier this week.

However, world oil prices are expected to fall in the months ahead as Iraqi output returns to normal, taking some of the shine off the oil sector's financial results.

By Jeffrey Tomich

Irving, Texas, May 1 (<a href=quote.bloomberg.com>Bloomberg) -- Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company, said first-quarter profit tripled to $7.04 billion because of surging energy prices and proceeds from the sale of a German natural-gas business.

Net income was equal to $1.05 a share, compared with $2.09 billion, or 30 cents a share, in the same period of 2002, the company said in a statement. Revenue rose to $63.8 billion from $43.5 billion.

Exxon Mobil had a record quarter for profit as oil prices rose 56 percent on average and natural gas doubled. The refining business, which had a loss in the first quarter last year, earned $723 million before taxes and interest. Chemical profit surged 85 percent.

Aside from a little bit of a shortfall in production, we were pleased,'' said Gene Pisasale, senior investment officer at Wilmington Trust Co., which owns almost 10 million Exxon shares. They had strong downstream margins and chemicals were good.''

Excluding a $1.7 billion gain from the sale of Exxon Mobil's stake in German natural-gas distributor Ruhrgas AG, a $550 million benefit from an accounting change, and some merger expenses, profit was $4.79 billion, or 71 cents a share, the company said.

Analysts had expected 70 cents, based on the average estimate in a poll by Thomson Financial.

Oil Earnings

Earnings from oil and gas production doubled to a record $3.99 billion because of higher prices, the company said.

Production of oil and natural-gas liquids fell to 2.51 million barrels a day from 2.54 million barrels, the company said. Natural-gas output rose to 12 billion cubic feet a day from 11.7 billion cubic feet.

Excluding the effects of the strike in Venezuela and a restriction on Exxon Mobil's production for members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, output of oil and gas rose 2 percent, the company said.

Average crude-oil prices rose 56 percent in the quarter to $33.80 a barrel because of a strike in Venezuela, civil unrest in Nigeria and the war in Iraq. Natural gas more than doubled to $5.92 per million British thermal units as cold weather in much of the U.S. spurred demand for heating fuel.

Prices fell during March and ``are significantly lower thus far in the second quarter,'' Exxon Mobil said.

Shares of Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil fell 13 cents to $35.07 at 10:41 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, after earlier rising as much as 49 cents. The stock had fallen 12 percent in the past year.

Refining Profit

Profit from making and selling fuels such as gasoline and heating oil was $723 million compared with a $28 million loss a year ago.

Earnings from the chemicals business rose to $287 million because of favorable foreign exchange effects and improved profitability outside the U.S.

Exxon raised its quarterly dividend 8.7 percent yesterday to 25 cents a share from 23 cents. It was the first quarterly boost in the payment since 2001 for Exxon Mobil, which had $7.2 billion in cash at the end of last year.

Capital and exploration spending in the first quarter rose $522 million to $3.5 billion, Exxon Mobil said. The company also purchased 35 million shares of its stock during the quarter for $1.19 billion, or about $34 a share. Last Updated: May 1, 2003 10:41 EDT

thestreet.com By TSC Staff 05/01/2003 08:34 AM EDT

ExxonMobil (XOM:NYSE - news - commentary - research - analysis) saw profits surge in the first quarter thanks primarily to the war in Iraq. The company posted $63.8 billion in quarterly revenue.

The country's No. 1 oil company said earnings in the quarter were $7.04 billion, or $1.05 a share, up from $2.09 billion, or 30 cents a share, last year. Before various items the company earned 71 cents a share, a penny better than expected.

Like all oil drillers, Exxon's results were goosed by a 57% rise in the price of oil last quarter, to an average cost of about $34 a barrel. Along with the Iraqi invasion, civil unrest in Nigeria and a big strike in Venezuela also conspired to life prices.

On Wednesday, Exxon raised its quarterly dividend to 25 cents from 23 cents.

Thu May 1, 2003 08:05 AM ET

NEW YORK (<a href=reuters.com>Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM.N , the world's largest publicly traded oil company, on Thursday said its first-quarter profit more than tripled, boosted by surging oil and gas prices.

The Irving, Texas, company reported first-quarter net income of $7.04 billion, or $1.05 a share, compared with net income of $2.09 billion, or 30 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.

 RELATED ARTICLES Exxon Mobil - Venezuela Heavy Oil at Full SteamExcluding special items, Exxon posted earnings per share of 71 cents. On that basis, analysts forecast average earnings of 70 cents a share, according to research firm Thomson First Call.

Revenue rose to $63.78 billion from $43.39 billion in the prior-year quarter.

Supply concerns linked to the war in Iraq, a strike in Venezuela and civil unrest in Nigeria -- all key oil-producing nations -- sent crude oil prices up 57 percent in the first quarter, with benchmark West Texas Intermediate spot prices averaging $33.94 a barrel.

Natural gas prices more than doubled in the same period, driven by concerns about dwindling supplies and tight inventories.

As fears about major supply disruptions recede and the oil markets brace for potentially higher output from post-war Iraq, crude oil prices are likely to fall. That will temper the upstream, or exploration and production, earnings.

However, falling oil prices help reduce costs for refiners, which use crude oil to make jet fuel, heating oil and gasoline. With supplies already below five-year averages, many analysts expect prices and margins for oil products to remain high.

Shares of Exxon Mobil, a component of the Dow Jones industrial average, closed Wednesday trade on the New York Stock Exchange at $35.20. During the first quarter, the stock was relatively unchanged, slightly underperforming the Standard & Poor's Standard & Poor's Integrated Oil & Gas index .GSPOILI which increased less than 1 percent in the same period.

<a href=www.theledger.com>The Associated Press LAFAYETTE, La.

Despite being flush with cash from high oil and natural gas prices, large petroleum companies are still hesitant to spend on new ventures because of economic uncertainty, an investment banker says.

The unknown future of oil from Iraq, Nigeria and Venezuela is compounding the uncertainty, Matthew LeCorgne, president of LeCorgne Loewenbaum and Co. of New Orleans, told the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday.

"This market does not like unpredictable situations," he said. LeCorgne said service companies are suffering because oil company profits are being banked instead of being spent on new drilling projects.

Lewis Gale, chosen as dean of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's College of Business Administration, said new opportunities exist for partnerships between U.S. and foreign companies.

Gale said the influence of OPEC may be diminished as the flow of Iraqi oil increases. The market is more sensitive to disruptions in supply, and consumption has increased while capacity has declined, Gale said.

Many oil companies reported quarterly profits that exceeded profits from the previous year, but they aren't willing to invest in new drilling ventures until they know petroleum prices have stabilized at a profitable level, LeCorgne said.

The nation's rig count is at 986 this week, a 30 percent increase from the same time last year, according to LeCorgne. Still, a third of available offshore rigs are not being used, he said. Information from: The Advocate

Last modified: April 30. 2003 9:08AM