Exxon Mobil’s fourth-quarter profit declined by 5 percent, capping a year in which earnings plunged by more than 30 percent.
The company’s $5.7 billion profit in the fourth quarter lagged the previous year on weaker sales and pricing in its petrochemical and refining divisions.
For the year, Exxon earned $14.3 billion, down from $20.8 billion in 2018, despite the sale of its Norwegian North Sea assets and the beginning of oil production in the waters off Guyana in December.
The company’s bottom line in 2019 showed the effects of pumping billions of dollars into oil-production from Guyana’s coastal waters and West Texas’ Permian Basin, where Exxon is the most active driller. Exxon’s capital spending jumped more than 20 percent to $31 billion last year from nearly $26 billion in 2018.
Exxon Mobil’s oil and gas production remained essentially flat in the fourth quarter. A nearly 5 percent dip in natural gas production was offset by a 4 percent jump in crude oil volumes, driven by growth in the Permian.
One other factor for weaker refining profits was additional downtime at Exxon’s refining and petrochemical complex in Beaumont, which is undergoing a major expansion.
Despite Exxon Mobil’s growth, the company has been punished on Wall Street with its stock near its lowest value since 2010 as the nation’s largest energy company deals with weaker oil and gas and petrochemical prices, increased spending and a souring investment sentiment on the broader energy sector.
Last year, Exxon fell out of the S&P 500 stock index’s list of 10 largest companies for the first time.
The company still has a market value of about $275 billion. Rivals Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell still lag behind with values of more than $210 billion.
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