Exxon Mobil Posts New Record for Profit!

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Glad they just got a tax break:confused:

Exxon Mobil Posts New Record for Profit

By STEVE QUINN, Associated Press Writer 15 minutes ago

IRVING, Texas - Exxon Mobil Corp. had a quarter for the record books. The world's largest publicly traded oil company said Thursday high oil and natural-gas prices helped its third-quarter profit surge almost 75 percent to $9.92 billion, the largest quarterly profit for a U.S. company ever, and it was the first to ring up more than $100 billion in quarterly sales.
Net income ballooned to $9.92 billion, or $1.58 per share, from $5.68 billion, or 88 cents per share, a year ago.

Excluding certain items, earnings were $8.3 billion, or $1.32 per share, versus $6.23 billion, or 96 cents per share, in the 2004 quarter.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, predicted earnings excluding items of $1.38 per share.

Revenue grew to $100.72 billion from $76.38 billion in the prior-year period.

Howard Silverblatt, equity analyst at Standard & Poor's, said both the net income and sales figures are all-time records for publicly traded U.S. companies.

The hurricanes slashed Exxon Mobil's U.S. production volumes by 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down nearly 5 percent year-over-year, costing the company $45 million before taxes. The company said total daily production slipped to 2.45 million barrels of oil equivalent from 2.51 million barrels.

"Following the hurricanes, Exxon Mobil maximized gasoline production from all of our refineries which were operating in the U.S., and increased imports from overseas affiliates to meet U.S. demand," said Chairman Lee R. Raymond.

Earnings from U.S. upstream operations increased by $498 million to $1.67 billion, while U.S. downstream earnings jumped $548 million to $1.11 billion. In the U.S. and abroad, income from the company's chemicals segment declined by $537 million to $472 million, as raw materials costs squeezed margins.

The company cautioned that reduced volumes and higher costs will also hurt the fourth quarter.

Shares of Irving-based Exxon Mobil rose 56 cents, or 1 percent, to $56.76 in early trading on the
New York Stock Exchange. The stock has traded in a 52-week range between $48.25 and $65.96.

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'Big Oil' is Too Successful Says Congress

House Republicans looking to score easy political points before the midterm elections are planning to put pressure on oil companies to explain soaring profits in light of excessive gasoline costs.

Republicans have taken this anti-business stance in light of a recent opinion poll in which 59 percent of respondents blamed high gasoline costs on "price gouging by oil and gas companies."

Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert said at a press conference on Tuesday, "These are extraordinary times that call for extraordinary measures. We expect oil companies to do their part to help ease the pain American families are feeling from high energy prices."

Hastert is considering holding congressional hearings to allow oil executives to give testimony. Hastert and other House Republicans want 'Big Oil' to "do its part" by "increasing capacity and improving refineries."

Democrats advocate implementing a windfall profits tax in legislation being introduced by Sen. Byron L. Dorgan. This tax would take 50 percent of the profits from every barrel of oil sold for more than $40, according to the Washington Times.

Oil industry representatives said creating a windfall profits tax would discourage new oil production in the U.S. Michael McKenna, an energy lobbyist stated in the Washington Times article that the oil industry should view Republicans' new stance "with the maximum amount of nervousness."

McKenna further explained Republicans' current problem with their pro-business principles, "What I haven't heard is a consistent answer that makes good sense both from a policy and a political perspective. That's the kind of thing Republicans are going to need, because they're worried right now."