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Exxon profit plunges 52% on low oil prices
Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) delivered quarterly earnings that fell short of analysts' expectations on Friday, as tumbling crude prices halved profit at the world's largest publicly traded oil company.
Exxon shares fell in premarket trading following the announcement. (Get the latest Exxon quote here.) (NYSE: XOM)
The world's largest publicly traded oil company reported a 52 percent slide in second-quarter profit as tumbling crude oil prices weighed on results. Crude prices in the quarter fell more than 40 percent from a year earlier, hit by growing global supplies and worries about slowing demand from China.
Exxon, based in Irving, Texas, said its profit in the quarter was $4.2 billion, or $1.00 per share, compared with $8.8 billion or $2.05 per share. Revenue fell to $74.11 billion from $111.65 billion a year ago.
Wall Street had expected the company to deliver quarterly earnings per share of $1.11 on $72.48 billion in revenue, according to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters.
Oil and gas output rose 3.6 percent to 4 million barrels oil equivalent per day (boed).
Exxon shares have slipped about 10 percent so far on the year, slightly outperforming the S&P 500 energy sector by about 1 percent. Oil prices have fallen by more than 50 percent in the past 12 months.
The oil giant has been exploring opportunities to expand its Beaumont, Texas, refinery. Adding a third crude distillation unit could make it the top refinery in the country.
Earlier this year, the oil company announced it would cut its 2015 capital expenditures by about $4.5 billion to $34 billion.
-Reuters contributed to this report.
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