DALLAS (AP):
EXXON MOBIL Corp. posted record profits for any United States company on Monday - US$10.71 billion for the fourth quarter and US$36.13 billion for the year - as the world's biggest publicly traded oil company benefited from high oil and natural-gas prices and solid demand for refined products.
The results exceeded Wall Street expectations and Exxon shares rose, but some lawmakers expressed outrage at the industry's latest profit surge, renewing calls for a windfall profits tax and increased investment in alternative fuels.
The company's earnings amounted to US$1.71 per share for the October-December quarter, up 27 per cent from US$8.42 billion, or US$1.30 per share, in the year ago quarter. The result topped the then-record quarterly profit of US$9.92 billion Exxon posted in the third quarter of 2005.
LARGEST ANNUAL REPORTED
Exxon's profit for the year was also the largest annual reported net income in U.S. history, according to Howard Silverblatt, a senior index analyst for Standard & Poor's. He said the previous high was Exxon's US$25.3 billion profit in 2004.
"What do you expect when you combine record oil and gas prices and strong operations everywhere else?" said analyst Fadel Gheit at Oppenheimer & Co. "Unless prices collapse, earnings in 2006 will make 2005 look like a cake walk."
