Exxon Hits All-Time Record Quarterly and Annual Profits in U.S. Corporate History

Let me say Exxon is doing something right, while the rest of the U.S. economy is in a free-fall. With the rising costs of gasoline, subprime mortgage fallout, recession, record foreclosures, it is a reality check to hear that this company has had record quarterly and annual profits for 2007, dare I say, the biggest in U.S. corporate history, aided by higher oil prices.

Exxon, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, said fourth-quarter net income rose 14% to $11.66 billion, or $2.13 per share. That’s up from $10.25 billion, or $1.76 per share, in the year-ago period, topping its previous quarterly profit record of $10.7 billion, set in the fourth quarter of 2005, which also was a record for a U.S. corporation.

Exxon also set an annual profit record by earning $40.61 billion last year – or nearly $1,300 per second in 2007. That exceeded its previous record of $39.5 billion in 2006. In the fourth quarter, revenue rose 29.5% from a year ago to $116.64 billion.

News reports say that the company attributed its impressive results to strong performance across its divisions, but a large part of the profit surge was underpinned by climbing oil prices. Crude prices skyrocketed nearly 60% last year. The surge helped prices break through the $100 a barrel mark for the first time ever early last month. Since crossing that milestone, prices have eased to around $91 a barrel.

So while the consumer is crapped on, there is no relief in sight. Of course not. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline hit an all-time high of $3.227 in May, the prices do not seem to be moving downward in the near future. The high prices were blamed on strong demand and a series of accidents that shut down refineries in the U.S. Slack demand for gasoline in the latter half of last year kept gas prices from rising as much as crude prices.

The reports have said that Exxon’s earnings are likely to draw fire from consumer rights groups, who contend the oil industry is deliberately restricting supply and profiting on the back of U.S. motorists. They have previously called for a windfall profit tax on oil firms and have proposed breaking up the big oil companies created during the 1990s merger wave.

Talk about “black gold!”

Filed under: black gold, earnings, Exxon Mobil, gasoline prices, oil, profits