Exxon Mobil 2Q Profit Hits More Than $10B

A car drives past the pumps at an Exxon station in Richmond, Va., Tuesday July 26, 2006. Exxon Mobil Corp. said its second quarter profit grew 36 percent to $10.36 billion in the second quarter, the second largest quarterly profit ever recorded by a publicly traded U.S. company. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (Steve Helber - AP)

The results topped Wall Street expectations but came in behind Exxon Mobil's record profit of $10.71 billion set in the fourth quarter of 2005. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected the company to earn $1.64 per share.

Revenue rose to $99.03 billion from $88.57 billion in the prior-year quarter. That was short of Exxon Mobil's record third-quarter revenue of $100.72 billion _ which also stands as record revenue generated by any U.S. public company in a quarter.

Its shares fell 13 cents to close at $66.47 on the New York Stock Exchange after reaching an all-time high of $67.65 earlier in the session.

Exxon Mobil said it spent $4.9 billion on capital and exploration projects during the quarter, up 8 percent from a year ago, while distributing $7.9 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases.

Congress has been urging the big oil companies to put more of their profits toward boosting the supply of energy for consumers. And this week the Senate sought to help out the industry by working on an election-year bill that would open a large area of the central Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling.

By a vote of 86-12 the Senate agreed Wednesday to proceed with the legislation that opponents fear could clear the way to lifting a federal drilling moratorium that has protected 85 percent of the country's Outer Continental Shelf from New England to Alaska for a quarter century.

Hubble told analysts that Exxon will boost capital spending from the previously stated $19 billion by another $1 billion this year, though one-third of that increase is tied to rising costs for labor and equipment.

"That's a big midyear jump," said Bruce Lanni, analyst with A.G. Edwards.

Exxon Mobil's production has increased 6 percent from a year ago and 9 percent if the impact of divestments are excluded.

"For a company of this size to report that sort of production, that growth is quite remarkable," said Tina Vital, equity analyst for Standard & Poor's.

Exxon Mobil watched all parts of its business grow.

By segment, exploration and production earnings rose sharply to $7.13 billion, up $2.23 billion from the second quarter of last year, a reflection of higher crude and natural gas prices.

The company's refining and marketing segment reported a $264 million earnings increase to $2.48 billion, the result of soaring fuel prices, which offset reduced output at its refineries and, as a result, fewer gallons of gasoline, heating oil and jet fuel being sold.

The company said its average sale price for crude oil in the U.S. during the quarter was $63.84 a barrel, compared to $45.85 a year earlier. Internationally, however, Exxon said the average sale price for oil was $65.12 compared to $47.55 a year ago. Natural gas prices were slightly lower in the U.S. and around the world.

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Associated Press Writer Toby Sterling in Amsterdam contributed to this report.