Exxon Mobil beat Wall Street’s estimate for third-quarter profit on Friday, boosted by strong oil production in its first full quarter, which included volumes from U.S. shale producer Pioneer Natural Resources.
The oil industry’s profits have been reduced this year due to slowing demand and low margins on gasoline and diesel. However, Exxon’s profits fell 5% year-over-year, a much smaller decline than rivals BP and TotalEnergies, which posted significantly lower quarterly results.
The U.S. oil producer reported revenue of $8.61 billion, down from $9.07 billion a year earlier. Its profit of $1.92 per share beat Wall Street forecasts of $1.88 per share, thanks to increased oil and gas production and curbed spending.
“We had several production records during the quarter,” said Chief Financial Officer Kathryn Mikells, citing a roughly 25% year-over-year increase in oil and gas production to 4.6 million barrels per day. .
Earlier this month, Exxon indicated that its operating profit was likely to decline, leading Wall Street analysts to cut their forecast for quarterly earnings per share by almost 10 cents.
The results include Exxon’s first full quarter of production following its May acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources. The $60 billion deal boosted production in the major U.S. shale basin to nearly 1.4 million barrels per day of oil and gas, overcoming a 17% drop in prices. oil prices in the quarter ended September 30.
Exxon announced it was increasing its quarterly dividend by 4% after generating free cash flow of $11.3 billion, well above analyst estimates. Rivals Saudi Aramco and Chevron have had to borrow this year to cover shareholder profits after raising dividends and share buybacks to attract investors.
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