27 October 2011, Sweetcrude, New York – In two seperate announcements Thursday, ExxonMobil, the world’s largest energy company, and Royal Dutch Shell said their third quarter profits soared on higher oil prices.
ExxonMobil posted a 41 percent profit jump for the second consecutive quarter as sales soared again while Shell saw its net profit more than doubled, driven by strong oil prices and the continuing contribution of new projects in Qatar and Canada.
ExxonMobil’s net earnings rose to $10.33 billion, or $2.13 per share, in the July-September period, the company said.
Sales increased 31.5 percent from a year ago to $125.33 billion, outstripping analyst forecasts of $113.56 billion.
The Texas-based oil and natural gas giant said it had spent $8.6 billion on capital expenses and exploration, resulting in a record level of $26.7 billion for the first nine months of the year.
“We continue pursuing new opportunities to meet growing energy demand while supporting economic growth, including job creation,” ExxonMobil chairman Rex Tillerson said in a statement.
For the first nine months of the year, earnings were up 49 percent from the same period a year ago to $31.7 billion.
In recent years, ExxonMobil has shifted away from its traditional strength in oil and invested deeply in natural gas, notably with its $41 billion acquisition of gas driller XTO Energy last year.
At Shell, net profit for the quarter totaled $6.98 billion, up from $3.46 billion a year earlier. Group revenue was $123.41 billion, compared with $90.71 billion in the third quarter of 2010. Diluted earnings per share were 112 cents.
