Exxon Mobil Earnings Surge

April 27, 2007
Exxon Mobil Earnings Surge

HOUSTON, April 26 — Despite a winter of relatively soft oil and natural gas prices, Exxon Mobil on Thursday reported another surge in profit for the first quarter of the year because of stronger earnings from its refining, marketing and chemicals businesses.

Exxon's continuing good fortunes — it said the results were its best ever for any first quarter — were particularly noteworthy given the mixed earnings picture reported in recent days by other large oil companies. Most of them cannot match the cost management and range of investments held by the world's largest publicly traded oil company.

Exxon, BP, ConocoPhillips, Occidental, Hess and other companies that reported this week generally acknowledged that profits from oil sales, though still hefty, had slowed in recent months.