Petroleum predator

1 February 2008 By Cyrus Sanati

The Texan titan raked in a record $40.6bn in profit last year. But unlike its competitors, Exxon has been stockpiling cash. Though it s a notorious bargainhunter, Exxon s $34bn in dry powder will come in handy if tumbling energy prices open acquisition opportunities.

This content is for Subscribers only

Context News

Exxon Mobil reported the highest quarterly and annual profit by a US company. Its fourthquarter net profit rose 14% to $11.7bn, or $2.13 per share, up from $10.3bn, or $1.76 per share, last year. This is well above the $1.95 per share earnings estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial. The world's largest publiclytraded oil company smashed records by chalking up earnings of $40.6bn last year, working out to nearly $78,000 per minute. The company said its impressive results were due to strong performances across its divisions. But a large part of its profit surge was also due to the soaring crude oil price. Exxon bought back 88m shares in the quarter, spending $7.9bn. Over the last five years, the company has paid out about $123.6bn to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends.

Email a friend

Please complete the form below.

Required fields *