Exxon Mobil 1Q Profit Rises 7 Percent

IRVING, Texas – Exxon Mobil Corp., the world’s largest oil company, on Thursday said higher oil prices drove first-quarter profit up 7 percent from the prior year.

Net income rose to $8.4 billion, or $1.37 per share, for the January-March period from $7.86 billion, or $1.22 per share, a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were looking for a higher profit of $1.47 per share, and shares fell $1.20, or almost 2 percent, in premarket trading.

Revenue grew to $88.98 billion from $82.05 billion a year earlier. Higher crude oil and natural gas prices and improved marketing margins were partly offset by lower chemical margins.

Worldwide production of oil equivalent in the first quarter of 2006 rose 5 percent.

The report comes amid consumer outcry in the U.S. about soaring gasoline prices. The average retail price of gasoline in the U.S. is now $2.91 a gallon, or 68 cents higher than a year ago.

In January, Exxon Mobil posted the highest quarterly and annual profits of any U.S. company in history: $10.71 billion for the fourth quarter of 2005 and $36.13 billion for the full year.