IRVING, Texas - Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest oil company, said Wednesday that fourth quarter profits fell 44 percent as demand and prices for crude and natural gas dropped, although the company met Wall Street's limited expectations. <br>
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The Irving, Texas-based company reported a net profit of $2.68 billion, or 39 cents per share, compared with $5.22 billion, or 75 cents per share, a year earlier. <br>
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Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call predicted Exxon Mobil would earn 39 cents a share. <br>
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Revenue for the quarter was $47.3 billion compared to $64.1 billion. <br>
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Exxon Mobil Chairman Lee R. Raymond blamed the eanings decline on lower prices and demand for crude and natural gas. <br>
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Earnings in the company's drilling, or upstream, operations, fell 16 percent as crude oil prices were down roughly 18 percent compared with last year. This was partially offset by the fact that profits from retail sales of gasoline and other so-called downstream operations rose 24 percent from a year ago, the company said. <br>
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Shares of Exxon Mobil rose 86 cents to $38.88 in early trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. <br>
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For 2001, net income fell 14 percent to $15.3 billion, down from $17.7 billion in 2000. Annual revenues fell to $212.9 billion from $232.7 a year ago. <br>
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Raymond said the year-on-year profit decline was partly due to the fact that Exxon Mobil's income in 2001 was inflated with gains from with asset sales tied to the 1999 merger of Exxon and Mobil. <br>
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Merger-related costs in the fourth quarter totaled $200 million. <br>
