Exxon Mobil Corp reported lower-than-expected second-quarter results on Friday as tumbling crude prices halved profit at the world’s largest publicly traded oil company.
Profit at Exxon’s exploration and production business fared even more poorly with a profit of $2 billion, down sharply from $7.9 billion a year earlier.
The company’s shares fell two per cent to $81.40 in pre-market trading.
Crude prices in the quarter fell more than 40 per cent from a year earlier, hit by growing global supplies and worries about slowing demand from China.
Exxon, based in Irving, Texas, the United States (U.S.), said it earned $4.2 billion, or $1.00 per share, in the quarter, compared with $8.8 billion, or $2.05 per share.
Analysts on average had expected a profit of $1.11 per share.
