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From: "Geo." <geo@barkto.com>

http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/exxon-turns-in-14b-whopper/2006/01/31/11385
90500947.html

February 1, 2006

EXXON Mobil has reported the highest profit ever: $US10.7 billion ($14.3
billion) for the last quarter of 2005 and $US36.13 billion for the entire year.

Propelled by record oil prices, the oil company's earnings sparked renewed
calls from some lawmakers in Washington for new taxes on oil company profits
and for Exxon to spend more on alternative sources of energy.

Exxon, of Irving, Texas, and other oil companies have benefited from unusually
high market prices for crude oil, petrol and natural gas - the result of tight
supplies and high demand. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which disrupted domestic
production and refining last northern autumn, helped push prices higher. In
past weeks, oil markets have sent prices even higher because of tension between
Western countries and oil producer Iran over its nuclear program.

At Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, profits rose despite
a drop in production in 2005. For the year, combined oil and natural gas
production was down 3.6 per cent compared to 2004. Removing the effect of
Katrina and Rita and other factors, the company's annual production was down 1
per cent compared to 2004.

The profit was equivalent to $US1.71 a share, up from $US1.44 the year before.
The shares closed up $US1.82 at $US63.11 on Monday.

The company is massive, operating in almost 200 countries and territories;
there are more than 13,000 Exxon and Mobil service stations in the US. Analysts
said the scale of Exxon, coupled with high commodity prices, help explain the
record numbers. Exxon and other oil companies will continue making record
profits this year because of sustained high oil prices, analysts said.

Exxon's fourth-quarter profit rose 27 per cent from the same period a year
earlier; its annual profit climbed about 43 per cent from 2004. The company's
2005 revenue was $US371 billion, higher than the gross domestic product of
Belgium.

Last week, Chevron reported its fourth-quarter profit was up 20 per cent on the
year before and ConocoPhillips reported a 51 per cent increase in
fourth-quarter profit. Marathon Oil said that its fourth-quarter profit nearly
tripled. BP and Royal Dutch Shell have yet to report their profits.

Exxon has about $US33 billion in cash on hand, the company said on Monday, and
has been returning some of its proceeds to investors by increasing dividends
and buying back shares. The company last year increased spending on exploration
and development. Analysts said they expected another increase this year, though
at a much slower rate than profits have grown.

Exxon chief executive Rex Tillerson said in a statement: "There is a great deal
of public interest in global energy prices . Our strong financial results will
continue to allow us to make significant, long-term investments required to do
our part in meeting the world's energy needs."

Exxon's earnings broke the US record for net income, set by itself, according
to Standard & Poor's Corp. Oil companies are trying to downplay their profits.
Exxon and the American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade group, ran
newspaper ads on Monday saying oil companies' earnings per dollar of sales were
below, or in line with, those of other industries.

Nevertheless, some US legislators are pushing for some form of a windfall
profits tax. Congress has so far resisted such efforts, with opponents saying
doing so could result in less production and higher consumer prices. The bulk
of Exxon's quarterly profit - more than $US7 billion - came from production and
the company's natural-gas and power-marketing business.

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