Exxon Mobil Posts Record Profits.....Again

[RunInRed 16,487]

Glad the Bush administration has put a good energy policy in place over the past 7yrs.

AP

Exxon Mobil Posts Record Profits

Friday February 1, 10:26 am ET

By John Porretto, AP Business Writer

Rising Oil Prices Push Exxon Mobil to U.S. Record Annual, Quarterly Profits

HOUSTON (AP) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. on Friday posted the largest annual profit by a U.S. company -- $40.6 billion -- as the world's biggest publicly traded oil company benefited from historic crude prices at year's end.

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Exxon also set a U.S. record for the biggest quarterly profit, posting net income of $11.7 billion for the final three months of 2007, beating its own mark of $10.71 billion in the fourth quarter of 2005.

The previous record for annual profit was $39.5 billion, which Exxon Mobil made in 2006.

The eye-popping results weren't a surprise given record prices for a barrel of oil at the end of 2007. For much of the fourth quarter, they hovered around $90 a barrel, more than 50 percent higher than a year ago.

Crude prices reached an all-time trading high of $100.09 on Jan. 3 but have fallen about 10 percent since.

The record profit for the October-December period amounted to $2.13 a share versus $1.76 a share in 2006. Year-ago net income was $10.25 billion.

Also extraordinary was Exxon Mobil's revenue, which rose 30 percent in the fourth quarter to $116.6 billion from $90 billion a year ago.

For the year, sales rose to $404.5 billion -- the most ever for the Irving, Texas-based company -- from the $377.64 billion it posted in 2006.

In a statement, Exxon Mobil Chairman Rex Tillerson said the company continued to meet the world's energy needs through its "globally diverse resource base."

"Our long-term investment program, in projects often far from major consuming nations, continued to provide resources essential to the increasingly interdependent global energy supply network," Tillerson said.

Exxon Mobil produces about 3 percent of the world's oil.

Its shares fell 37 cents to $86.03 in morning trading after rising as high as $87.86 earlier in the session.

Higher commodity prices in the quarter were clearly evident from earnings at Exxon Mobil's exploration and production arm, known as the upstream. Income rose 32 percent to $8.2 billion from $6.2 billion a year ago.

On an oil-equivalent basis, production increased nearly 1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2006. Excluding the expropriation of its Venezuelan assets last year, divestments and other factors, production rose nearly 3 percent.

Refining and marketing, or downstream, earnings were $2.3 billion, up from nearly 2 billion in the year-ago quarter, as improved refining operations offset lower U.S. refining margins.

In the U.S., downstream earnings were off sharply from a year ago -- $622 million in the most-recent quarter versus $945 million in 2006.

Refining margins -- the difference between the cost of crude and what the company makes on refined products such as gasoline -- have been squeezed in recent months as spiking oil prices outpaced increases in gasoline prices and other refined products.

Already, ConocoPhillips has said record oil prices at the end of 2007 helped it post a 37 percent increase in fourth-quarter profit, even as it produced less crude and natural gas than a year earlier. Its fourth-quarter net income rose to $4.37 billion versus $3.2 billion a year earlier.

ConocoPhillips is the nation's third-largest integrated oil company behind Exxon Mobil and Chevron Corp.

Chevron reporrted separately Friday its profit rose 29.2 percent in the fourth quarter, as surging prices for crude oil offset weak results from its refining business. It earned $4.88 billion, or $2.32 per share, from $3.77 billion, or $1.74 per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 29 percent to $61.41 billion from $47.75 billion.

On Thursday, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe's largest oil company, reported fourth-quarter profit rose 60 percent to $8.47 billion on asset sales and higher oil prices. What's more, the Anglo-Dutch company said full-year net profit was a company record $31.3 billion, up 23 percent from the prior year.

[BamaGrad03 0]

They are going to continue to charge what the market will bear. Until American consumers change their driving habits...this will continue to happen.

Don't blame Bush for Capitalism.

[TitanTiger 20,511]

They are going to continue to charge what the market will bear. Until American consumers change their driving habits...this will continue to happen.

Don't blame Bush for Capitalism.

Also...until American consumers change what they drive. Not calling for government mandates, but when single people or families with 1 or 2 kids insist on driving Hummer H2's, Suburbans and other gas guzzling vehicles, demand goes up.

[RunInRed 16,487]

When Halliburton and Co. meet behind closed doors to write an energy policy we have problems. Where is all the investment in alternative energies? Where are the fuel efficiency mandates on the auto industry? Where is leadership asking consumers to change their behavior? Where are green initiative efforts?

If Brazil can make alternative energy work, so can we. It's about leadership.

[Tigermike 3,053]

Glad the Bush administration has put a good energy policy in place over the past 7yrs.

And the energy policy from the Clinton 8 years worked so well!

When Halliburton and Co. meet behind closed doors to write an energy policy we have problems. Where is all the investment in alternative energies? Where are the fuel efficiency mandates on the auto industry? Where is leadership asking consumers to change their behavior? Where are green initiative efforts?

If Brazil can make alternative energy work, so can we. It's about leadership.

Yeah it is about leadership. Which as been lacking from both parties.

Where has the investment been in new refineries? In new oil exploration? ANWAR? Nuclear? Wind? Solar? All areas that the environmentalists have ranted and raved against for years. And who do they support?

[BamaGrad03 0]

Also...until American consumers change what they drive. Not calling for government mandates, but when single people or families with 1 or 2 kids insist on driving Hummer H2's, Suburbans and other gas guzzling vehicles, demand goes up.

+1

[CCTAU 3,345]

When Halliburton and Co. meet behind closed doors to write an energy policy we have problems. Where is all the investment in alternative energies? Where are the fuel efficiency mandates on the auto industry? Where is leadership asking consumers to change their behavior? Where are green initiative efforts?

If Brazil can make alternative energy work, so can we. It's about leadership.

You don't have a clue.

We had this discussion about Brazil last year. Maybe you should look it up.

As for the rest, look out. Isn't that a black helicopter over your mobile home right now?

And of course they had record profits. Since the price of oil is up, so are the profits. But what were the profit MARGINS? And are they in line with the last 10 years?

[RunInRed 16,487]

TM - Reagan had 8 years to address this too...I mean, how far back do you want to go? I love how people justify Bush's bad behavior by trying to rationalize it against Clinton's. What kind of precedent are we setting here?

CCTAU - Bless your soul...I know you're a repub...and want to drill your way out of this problem...but for gosh sakes, chill. I promise a tree hugger isn't going to come and take away your gas guzzling SUV or your inefficient home.

[Auburn85 432]

how much has the government made off of gasoline? Yeah, they get their funds per gallon, but come on! more gallons of gas are being sold. more gas stations have opened up than closed.

[Tigermike 3,053]

TM - Reagan had 8 years to address this too...I mean, how far back do you want to go? I love how people justify Bush's bad behavior by trying to rationalize it against Clinton's. What kind of precedent are we setting here?

Did you say this in the opening post?

Glad the Bush administration has put a good energy policy in place over the past 7yrs.

Since in your mind the energy problems are all Bushes fault, I would like you to comment on this little tidbit.

A Promising Resource

Dr. Daniel Fine of MIT reported that 750 billion barrels worth of oil shale have been discovered in Colorado alone. That amount is enough to potentially power the U.S. economy for many decades. Furthermore, if full-scale production begins within five years, the U.S. could completely end its dependence on OPEC by 2020.

The omnibus provisions would undoubtedly slow progress being made in the oil shale industry, effectively putting another viable, domestic source of energy "off limits." As such, the oil shale prohibition would severely reduce the potential for oil shale to decrease U.S. dependence on imported oil. If Congress passes the omnibus in its current form, the oil shale provision is one more reason for President Bush to exercise his veto authority.

link

Why would the dim congress not want the United States to cut dependence on imported oil?

[AURaptor 1,126]

What's the Bush administration suppose to do ? Confiscate a company's profits which the Gov't deams ' too much ' for a company to make ?

That's called fascism, and it ain't what America is about.

[CCTAU 3,345]

TM - Reagan had 8 years to address this too...I mean, how far back do you want to go? I love how people justify Bush's bad behavior by trying to rationalize it against Clinton's. What kind of precedent are we setting here?

CCTAU - Bless your soul...I know you're a repub...and want to drill your way out of this problem...but for gosh sakes, chill. I promise a tree hugger isn't going to come and take away your gas guzzling SUV or your inefficient home.

???? As with most of your posts ?????

I don't have an SUV.

And us rich republicans don't own homes. We have castles.

BTW. Tree huggers don't really show themselves around here.

I'll ask the question again. What are the PROFIT MARGINS? Are they in line with the past ten years or not?

[CCTAU 3,345]

TM - Reagan had 8 years to address this too...I mean, how far back do you want to go? I love how people justify Bush's bad behavior by trying to rationalize it against Clinton's. What kind of precedent are we setting here?

CCTAU - Bless your soul...I know you're a repub...and want to drill your way out of this problem...but for gosh sakes, chill. I promise a tree hugger isn't going to come and take away your gas guzzling SUV or your inefficient home.

???? As with most of your posts ?????

I don't have an SUV.

And us rich republicans don't own homes. We have castles.

BTW. Tree huggers don't really show themselves around here.

I'll ask the question again. What are the PROFIT MARGINS? Are they in line with the past ten years or not?

Little more info for you tax hungry dims:

EXXON MOBILE PROFITS

I covered this on the Information Overload portion of the Boortz show yesterday. Web Guy and Cristina tell me that there have been hundreds of email requests to put the information here in the Nuze.

Happy to oblige.

The issue here is the profit figures for Exxon Mobile. This oil company has been a favorite target for leftist, anti-capitalist politicians. I'm sure you remember Hillary screeching about wanting "to take those profits" so that she could spend them.

Recap: In 2006 Exxon reported profits of $39.5 billion. Politicians went nuts. In 2007 those profits went to $40.6 billion. Politicians went nutsier.

The reason politicians can successfully demagogue these profits is that the vast majority .. and we're talking 95% and above .. of Americans couldn't tell you the difference between a profit and a profit margin if their flat screen TVs depended on it. Simply stated, profit is the total amount you make. Profit margin is how much you make on each dollar of sales. You would think that this would be taught in our government schools ... but if you did think that you would be wrong.

So ... what has been happening to Exxon's profit margin during these record profit years? Staying about the same, that's what; around 10%. The reason their profits have been increasing is because the price of crude oil has been going up ... bring gas prices up with them ... thus increasing the dollar amount of sales. Profit – up. Profit margins – 'bout the same.

By the way ... financial institutions and cosmetics companies have been enjoying higher margins ... along with many other sectors of our economy.

Over the past three years Exxon Mobile has paid an average of $27 billion a year in taxes to the Imperial Federal Government. This has amounted to about 41% of Exxon's taxable income.

The last year for which complete numbers on who pays what taxes are available was 2004. In 2004 there were 130 million individual tax returns filed. If you take the bottom 50% of those tax returns – 65 million of them – and add up the total amount of taxes those households paid you come up with $27.4 billion. This means that one corporation, Exxon Mobile, pays as much in taxes to the federal government as do the bottom half of individual taxpayers. How's that for paying your fair share.

There's more. The Adjusted gross income for the bottom 50% of taxpayers comes out to about $922 billion. This means that these taxpayers are paying an effective tax rate of about 3% of their adjusted gross income. Exxon? Adjusted gross income of around $67.4 billion in 2006 ... for an effective tax rate of 41%.

There's the facts, my friends. If you're able to absorb them you'll see just how you're being manipulated by the likes of Hillary Clinton and other politicians. If the American voters were truly educated they couldn't get away with it for a minuteLINK

[jw 4 au 526]

When Halliburton and Co. meet behind closed doors to write an energy policy we have problems. Where is all the investment in alternative energies? Where are the fuel efficiency mandates on the auto industry? Where is leadership asking consumers to change their behavior? Where are green initiative efforts?

If Brazil can make alternative energy work, so can we. It's about leadership.

What about Congress, or is to too easy and quick to simply blame Bush?

[otterinbham 0]

Hold the phone. The way I see it, you want it both ways:

1) Cheap gas and

2) Fuel efficient cars.

This is not coherent reasoning on your part. For inexpensive fuel means inefficient cars. When gas was $1.20 a gallon back in the late 90s, I remember watching some soccer mom fuel up her Denali and thinking, "What's she going to do when the cost of gas goes up?" Now with gas sitting at the $3.00 mark, one of the loneliest places on the planet is a Hummer dealership.

Exxon Mobil's profits are calculated as a percentage of sales, not just some arbitrary number. It's simple economics. When the price of gas is high, the profits are high. When the price of gas is low, like it was in the 80s, there's blood in the streets in Texas and Northern Louisiana with lots of laid off energy workers. Yet, when that was going on, I didn't hear anybody feeling sorry for Exxon then.

Profit is not an inherently bad thing. Repeat after me...

[autiger4life 3]

Everyone wants to create a cause and effect relationship between high profits and high gas prices. While there is some connection, the real connection is simply that American's LOVE FUEL. If we would stop focusing so much energy on Exxon Mobile, and more on better cars and other forms of energy it would take care of it self. However, no matter what the gas prices do, Americans continue to buy it, not carpool, not get better cars etc. Demand continues and so they will continue to profit.

How about we actually praise companies who do well instead of screaming, "Hey Exxon Mobile quit making money!". How about we shout, "Hey Americans how about we start using better cars and new forms of energy" Until the demand stops the companies have no incentive to stop them.

I agree with the government stepping in in monopolies and such, but the gas companies are stomping out any would be competitors, Americans just love gas.

[CCTAU 3,345]

I agree with the government stepping in in monopolies and such, but the gas companies are stomping out any would be competitors, Americans just love gas.

There's plenty of oil in this world for a long time. We just need to set the priorities for the world biggest monopoly. (OPEC)

I heard an interview with Trump abut how the president should deal with OPEC/Saudi Arabia.

Trump: If i were president right now, you'd have $30 oil. I would call up Saudi Arabia and say "That ******* price is coming down and it's coming down now" and you know what? They'd lower that price so quick and it'd be so easy.

Cavuto: What if they didn't?

Trump: They will.

VIDEO

Only problem I have with this is that Trump bases everything on real estate. Unfortunately real estate was propped up by bad loans the last several years. Most everything else is fairly stable. Can real estate drag the rest down? Maybe.

[tgr4lfe 220]

Exxon is going to make money no matter what the price per gallon is for gasoline. Like others have said, we have to be more responsible about driving habits and what we drive. I am trying to sell my truck (that I love) b/c I can't afford and don't want to continue to pay $70 per fill up every week! We are going to get the most fuel efficient mini van (Honda Odyssey) out there for my wife to drive and I am going to get a Honda Civic. I would get a Hybrid if I could afford the higher car payments. I guess I could getting 50 mpg in a Hybrid, huh?

I wish our government would get off its butt to develop domestic refineries to supply America instead of relying on OPEC. That would be the biggest benefit for America and would bring the price down very quickly!

[AFTiger 282]

Exxon is going to make money no matter what the price per gallon is for gasoline. Like others have said, we have to be more responsible about driving habits and what we drive. I am trying to sell my truck (that I love) b/c I can't afford and don't want to continue to pay $70 per fill up every week! We are going to get the most fuel efficient mini van (Honda Odyssey) out there for my wife to drive and I am going to get a Honda Civic. I would get a Hybrid if I could afford the higher car payments. I guess I could getting 50 mpg in a Hybrid, huh?

I wish our government would get off its butt to develop domestic refineries to supply America instead of relying on OPEC. That would be the biggest benefit for America and would bring the price down very quickly!

I agree that many of our energy problems are solvable within our own capabilities. We are a country rich in fossil fuels but have tied our hands to get at them. Who in government is stopping the development of new refineries?

[AUman43 5]

I don't blame Bush for capitalism..........but I DO blame him and congress for giving big oil a combined $12 billion in taxpayer subsidies at a time when these major oil companies were making record profits! Two billion dollars of that subsidy, over the past decade (when Republicans controlled both the White House and both houses of Congress) is earmarked for deep-water drilling in the gulf of Mexico. Bush and his Republican controlled congress also granted an additional $7 million worth of "royalty relief" to these same oil companies that are expected to take in some $65 billion worth of oil and natural gas from FEDERAL LANDS of all things! :angry

BTW, the free market system will ONLY WORK so long as people are relatively honest, devoid of excessive greed and corruption, and so long as there is some oversight!! Right now, there is little or no oversight, rampant greed and corruption, more lobbyists in Washington than politicians, and a government that blatently ignores the will of the American people. Sure is a bright picture!

[WarDamn 0]

On another note, Exxon on Hwy 11 and Chalkville Mtn RD in Trussville managed to get water in their fuel tanks during the rain yesterday. By the time I got my ride towed home, ABC Towing had already made 27 other tows for the same reason. Needless to say, there were a lot of unhappy campers in Truss-Vegas yesterday.

That is all. Carry on...

[CCTAU 3,345]

Exxon is going to make money no matter what the price per gallon is for gasoline. Like others have said, we have to be more responsible about driving habits and what we drive. I am trying to sell my truck (that I love) b/c I can't afford and don't want to continue to pay $70 per fill up every week! We are going to get the most fuel efficient mini van (Honda Odyssey) out there for my wife to drive and I am going to get a Honda Civic. I would get a Hybrid if I could afford the higher car payments. I guess I could getting 50 mpg in a Hybrid, huh?

I wish our government would get off its butt to develop domestic refineries to supply America instead of relying on OPEC. That would be the biggest benefit for America and would bring the price down very quickly!

I agree that many of our energy problems are solvable within our own capabilities. We are a country rich in fossil fuels but have tied our hands to get at them. Who in government is stopping the development of new refineries?

I would imagine he meant all of the tree-huggers that support and influence the dim party. They are the ones not allowing any new refineries to be built.

[Tigermike 3,053]

I wish our government would get off its butt to develop domestic refineries to supply America instead of relying on OPEC. That would be the biggest benefit for America and would bring the price down very quickly!

To be precise the refineries that are needed (if built) would not decrease our dependence on OPEC. OPEC supplies the crude oil, the refineries then refine the oil into usable products. Yes we do need more refineries. We also need more domestic drilling to meet the needs of the nation. We also need a plan, a product or industry to get us off oil. The dims at the urging of their green base have blocked all attempts at domestic production increases. So when the dims start demagoguing the issue I get a little nauseous.

[Tigermike 3,053]

I don't blame Bush for capitalism..........but I DO blame him and congress for giving big oil a combined $12 billion in taxpayer subsidies at a time when these major oil companies were making record profits! Two billion dollars of that subsidy, over the past decade (when Republicans controlled both the White House and both houses of Congress) is earmarked for deep-water drilling in the gulf of Mexico. Bush and his Republican controlled congress also granted an additional $7 million worth of "royalty relief" to these same oil companies that are expected to take in some $65 billion worth of oil and natural gas from FEDERAL LANDS of all things! :angry

BTW, the free market system will ONLY WORK so long as people are relatively honest, devoid of excessive greed and corruption, and so long as there is some oversight!! Right now, there is little or no oversight, rampant greed and corruption, more lobbyists in Washington than politicians, and a government that blatently ignores the will of the American people. Sure is a bright picture!

It's easy to take shots at Bush and his republican controlled congress. And I am sure in your mind that alleviates the dims of all blame. How do you explain all the years of dims in the White House and a dim controlled congress? How do you explain the dims blocking drilling in ANWAR? How do you explain the dims blocking construction of new refineries in the U.S.? It's easy to jump on the big bad oil companies for wanting, needing relief to get to oil in very hard to get areas of the gulf of Mexico.

When you get off your rant comment on this, A Promising Resource

Dr. Daniel Fine of MIT reported that 750 billion barrels worth of oil shale have been discovered in Colorado alone. That amount is enough to potentially power the U.S. economy for many decades. Furthermore, if full-scale production begins within five years, the U.S. could completely end its dependence on OPEC by 2020.

The omnibus provisions would undoubtedly slow progress being made in the oil shale industry, effectively putting another viable, domestic source of energy "off limits." As such, the oil shale prohibition would severely reduce the potential for oil shale to decrease U.S. dependence on imported oil. If Congress passes the omnibus in its current form, the oil shale provision is one more reason for President Bush to exercise his veto authority.

link

Why would the dim congress not want the United States to cut dependence on imported oil? Could it be to continue to demagogue the issue? Since it plays so well in dim circles.

[jared52 4,354]

My first political forum post, I think...

As I understand it, oil comanies do not set the price of oil, the market does. Oil is a traded commodity and it sells for what the market desides it sells for. It's not Exxon or BP or whomever, it's simply what goes on on Wall Street. The issue right now is that supply is lower than demand and Econ 101 says that price will go up in this situation. To bring the price down, you either reduce demand, increase supply, or do some of both. The "some of both" answer is probably the best bet for us right now. Either way, oil companies have little to no effect on the oil prices.