ExxonMobil earnings rises 50% to $4bn on solid business performance

The oil giant, Exxon Mobil Corporation, has announced an estimated third quarter 2017 earnings of $4 billion, or $0.93 per diluted share, compared with $2.7 billion a year earlier as commodity prices improved and performance in the Upstream and Downstream strengthened. Impacts related to Hurricane Harvey reduced earnings by an estimated 4 cents per share.
According to the release, “A 50 per cent increase in earnings through solid business performance and higher commodity prices is a step forward in our plan to grow profitability,” said Darren Woods, chairman and chief executive officer. “For the fourth-consecutive quarter, we generated cash flow from operations and asset sales that more than covered our dividends and net investments in the business.”
Upstream earnings rose to $1.6 billion as commodity prices increased. Building on its recent success in deepwater exploration, such as the Turbot discovery in Guyana, ExxonMobil added 12 offshore blocks in Brazil, capturing acreage with high resource potential and competitive fiscal terms.
Downstream results increased to $1.5 billion, despite Hurricane Harvey impacts and the absence of favorable asset management gains of $380 million in the prior year from the sale of Canadian retail assets. These results were achieved as the company worked quickly to safely bring refineries back online following the storm and to restore product supplies.
Chemical earnings were $1.1 billion, down slightly from a year ago on lower commodity margins and hurricane impacts, partially offset by volume growth. During the quarter the company enhanced its position to capture growing demand in Asia by completing the purchase of an aromatics plant in Singapore.