Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM, ETR:XONA) has warned the likes of lower oil prices and wider weakness will eat into profit over the fourth quarter.
Profit was on course to drop by around US$1.75 billion against the third quarter, Exxon forecast in an regulatory filing on Tuesday.
Lower liquids prices were set to impact upstream earnings by as much as US$900 million, the filing showed.
Exxon’s update had come into focus as traders looked to assess the impact of a roughly 6% drop in oil prices over the three months to December and 12% decline over the year.
Fears that global supply would outstrip demand over the coming year have weighed on oil in recent months.
Squeezed refining margins would cut profit by up to US$700 million, Exxon also said, while seasonal effects were seen taking off as much as $900 million.
Divestments and stronger earnings from gas were among factors due to partially offset the hit, it added.
However, RBC analyst Biraj Borkhataria noted the update pointed to “well below consensus” profit for the fourth quarter.
Analysts were expecting fourth-quarter per-share earnings of US$1.76, against US$2.48 a year earlier.
Earnings had amounted to US$8.6 billion in the third quarter and US$9.96 billion during last year’s fourth.
Shares were down around 1.3% on Wednesday morning.
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