Exxon Mobil signals Q4 earnings to drop versus prior quarter

By Sheila Dang

HOUSTON (Reuters) -Exxon Mobil signaled on Tuesday that weaker oil prices and refining results would reduce its fourth-quarter earnings by about $1.6 billion from the previous quarter.

The oil major also said in an SEC filing that it expects to take impairments in the quarter totaling about $600 million, mostly in the upstream business. The company did not provide a reason for the impairments in the filing.

Exxon (NYSE:XOM ) is expected to post a profit of $1.76 a share in the quarter, down from $2.48 a share, in the same quarter last year, according to financial firm LSEG.

Exxon gets about two-thirds of its operating profit from producing oil and gas and its snapshot is closely watched for clues to how other oil majors will fare when they begin releasing results this month.

Oil prices declined about 6% in the quarter ended Dec. 31 from the prior three months, and down nearly 12% from a year-ago, as traders worried about global oil demand growth.

The drop was partially offset by higher U.S. prices for natural gas , which were up about 30% from the prior quarter.



The industry bellwether had posted $8.6 billion in earnings for the third quarter, and an adjusted net profit of $9.96 billion in the year-ago fourth quarter.

The company will release final results on Jan. 31, the filing said.

Source: Investing.com