Exxon Mobil Corp shares climbed after the company reported first-quarter financial results that handily beat Wall Street analyst estimates as production expanded.
Significantly, both Exxon and Chevron, the two largest US oil companies, managed their businesses well despite sagging oil and natural gas prices to post earnings growth.
For the period ended March 31, 2023, the Irvine, Texas-based energy giant reported earnings of $11.4 billion, or $2.79 per share on revenue of $86.6 billion. The consensus earnings estimate was $2.65 per share on revenue of $83.1 billion.
The stock was up nearly 1% to $117.45 in pre-market trading.
Exxon increased oil and gas net production by nearly 300,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day, compared to the same quarter in 2022, excluding divestments, entitlements, and Sakhalin-1 expropriation.
Refineries have continued to perform well, helping both Exxon and Chevron boost their revenues. Exxon started up its Beaumont Refinery expansion and reached full capacity of 250,000 barrels of production per day to help meet global demand.
“Delivered a record first quarter following a record year,” Exxon CEO Darren Woods said in a statement.
“We are growing value by increasing production from our advantaged assets to meet global demand. At the same time, our Low Carbon Solutions team is rapidly growing this new business with…growing momentum in providing industrial customers with large-scale emission reduction solutions.”
Exxon Mobil and Linde, have struck a long-term commercial agreement in which Exxon Mobil, subject to government permitting, will capture, transport, and permanently store up to 2.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) each year from Linde's new clean hydrogen production facility in Beaumont, Texas, with operations starting as soon as 2025.
While Exxon has increased production in the Permian Basin, which straddles Texas and New Mexico, it has also concentrated on returning cash to shareholders by raising dividends and share buybacks.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
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