Exxon Mobil beats Wall Street's third quarter profit estimate, boosted by strong oil output in its first full quarter that includes volumes from US shale producer Pioneer Natural Resources.

 

Oil industry earnings have been squeezed this year by slowing demand and weak margins on gasoline and diesel. But Exxon's year-over-year profit fell 5 per cent, a much smaller drop than at rivals BP and TotalEnergies, which posted sharply lower quarterly results.

 

The US oil producer reported income of $8.61 billion, down from $9.07 billion a year ago. Its $1.92 per share profit topped Wall Street's outlook of $1.88 per share, on higher oil and gas production and spending constraints.

 

"We had a number of production records" in the quarter, said finance chief Kathryn Mikells, citing an about 25 per cent year-on-year increase in oil and gas output, to 4.6 million barrels per day.

 

Exxon earlier this month had flagged operating profit likely fell, leading Wall Street analysts to shave their quarterly per share earnings outlook by nearly a dime.

 

The results included Exxon's first full quarter of production following its acquisition in May of Pioneer Natural Resources. The $60 billion deal drove production in the top US shale basin to nearly 1.4 million barrels per day of oil and gas, helping overcome a 17 per cent decline in average oil prices in the quarter ended Sept. 30.

 

Exxon disclosed it raised its quarterly dividend by 4 per cent after generating free cash flow of $11.3 billion, well above analysts' estimates. Rivals Aramco and Chevron have had to borrow this year to cover shareholder returns after boosting dividends and buybacks to attract investors. -Reuters