Exxon Mobil said today record oil prices boosted its fourth-quarter earnings to $11.66 billion, the highest ever operating profit by a US company.
Net income rose nearly 14 per cent from the year-earlier of $10.25 billion. Earnings per share rose to $2.13 from $1.76 last year. Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $1.98 per share.
Revenue in the quarter rose to $116.64 billion from $90.03 billion in 2006.
Shares of the world's largest non-government-controlled oil company rose 1.7 per cent in before-the-bell trading as the results beat Wall Street forecasts.
Oil prices averaged more than $90 a barrel during the quarter and nearly hit $100 due to tight supplies, geopolitical risks and the weak dollar. They averaged just over $60 a barrel in the same period a year earlier.
Profit margins from refining were relatively weak in the quarter as gasoline prices failed to keep pace with oil prices that soared to record levels.
Since the beginning of last year, shares of Exxon are up about 13 per cent, underperforming the Chicago Board Options Exchange's oil index, which is up about 21 per cent.