Exxon Mobil Corporation Announces Estimated Third Quarter 2012 Results

01.11.2012  |  Business Wire

Exxon
Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM):

EXXONMOBIL'S CHAIRMAN REX W. TILLERSON COMMENTED:

'Third quarter results reflect our ongoing commitment to help deliver
the energy needed to underpin economic recovery and growth while
maintaining our strong focus on safety and environmental performance.

'Third quarter 2012 earnings were $9.6 billion, down 7% from the
third quarter of 2011.Earnings for the first nine months of 2012
were $34.9 billion, up 10% compared to the first nine months of 2011.

'Capital and exploration expenditures were $9.2 billion in the third
quarter and a record $27.4 billion for the first nine months of 2012 as
we continue pursuing opportunities to find and produce new supplies of
oil and natural gas to meet global demand for energy.

'The Corporation distributed $7.6 billion to shareholders in the
third quarter through dividends and share purchases to reduce shares
outstanding.?

THIRD QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

• 
  Earnings of $9,570 million decreased $760 million or 7% from the third
  quarter of 2011.
  
• 
  Earnings per share (assuming dilution) were $2.09, a decrease of 2%
  from the third quarter of 2011.
  
• 
  Capital and exploration expenditures were $9.2 billion, up 7% from the
  third quarter of 2011.
  
• 
  Oil-equivalent production decreased 7.5% from the third quarter of
  2011. Excluding the impacts of entitlement volumes, OPEC quota effects
  and divestments, production decreased 2.9%.
  
• 
  Cash flow from operations and asset sales was $14.0 billion, including
  proceeds associated with asset sales of $0.6 ?billion.
  
• 
  Share purchases to reduce shares outstanding were $5 billion.
  
• 
  Dividends per share of $0.57 increased 21% compared to the third
  quarter of 2011.
  
• 
  As announced, on September 19, 2012, ExxonMobil and its subsidiary,
  XTO Energy Inc., signed an exchange agreement with Denbury Onshore,
  LLC, a subsidiary of Denbury Resources Inc., to acquire 100 percent of
  Denbury′s Bakken shale assets, which consist of approximately 196,000
  net acres in North Dakota and Montana, with expected production to be
  more than 15,000 net oil-equivalent barrels per day when the deal
  closes.
  
• 
  As announced, on October 16, 2012, ExxonMobil Canada Ltd. entered into
  an agreement with Celtic Exploration Ltd. ('Celtic?) under which an
  ExxonMobil Canada affiliate will acquire Celtic. Under the terms of
  the agreement, ExxonMobil Canada will acquire 545,000 net acres in the
  liquids-rich Montney shale, 104,000 net acres in the Duvernay shale
  and additional acreage in other areas of Alberta. Current production
  of the acreage to be acquired is 72 million cubic feet per day of
  natural gas and 4,000 barrels per day of crude, condensate and natural
  gas liquids.
  
• 
  The Sakhalin-1 Consortium, operated by Exxon Neftegas Limited (ENL),
  recently drilled the world′s longest extended-reach well at the Chayvo
  field, offshore Russian Far East. Using ExxonMobil′s fast-drill
  technology, the Z-44 well reached a measured depth of 12,376 meters
  (40,604 feet), more than 27 times the height of the Empire State
  Building.
  
• 
  ExxonMobil is investing more than $200 million to expand its Baton
  Rouge, Louisiana chemical and lubricants plants to increase capacity
  for synthetic lubricant base stocks manufacturing and lubricants
  blending, packaging and storage.
  

Third Quarter 2012 vs. Third Quarter 2011

Upstream earnings were $5,973 ?million in the third quarter of 2012, down
$2,421 million from the third quarter of 2011. Production volume and mix
effects reduced earnings by $700 million. Lower liquids and natural gas
realizations decreased earnings by $130 ?million. All other items,
including the absence of prior year asset sales ($1.0 ?billion),
unfavorable tax items and foreign exchange impacts, decreased earnings
by a total of $1.6 ?billion.

On an oil-equivalent basis, production decreased 7.5% from the third
quarter of 2011. Excluding the impacts of entitlement volumes, OPEC
quota effects and divestments, production decreased 2.9%.

Liquids production totaled 2,116 ?kbd (thousands of barrels per day),
down 133 kbd from the third quarter of 2011. Excluding the impacts of
entitlement volumes, OPEC quota effects and divestments, liquids
production was down 3.1%, as field decline was partially offset by
project ramp-up in Angola and Nigeria.

Third quarter natural gas production was 11,061 ?mcfd (millions of cubic
feet per day), down 1,136 mcfd from 2011. Excluding the impacts of
entitlement volumes and divestments, natural gas production was down
2.7%, due primarily to field decline.

Earnings from U.S. Upstream operations were $633 ?million, $551 ?million
lower than the third quarter of 2011. Non-U.S. Upstream earnings were
$5,340 million, down $1,870 ?million from the prior year.

Downstream earnings were $3,190 ?million, up $1,611 ?million from the
third quarter of 2011. Downstream margins, mainly refining, increased
earnings by $850 million, while volume and mix effects were essentially
flat. All other items, including higher gains on asset sales of $360
million, favorable foreign exchange effects, and lower operating
expenses, increased earnings by $780 million. Petroleum product sales of
6,105 ?kbd were 453 ?kbd lower than last year's third quarter due mainly
to divestments and the Japan restructuring.

Earnings from the U.S. Downstream were $1,441 ?million, up $631 ?million
from the third quarter of 2011. Non-U.S. Downstream earnings of
$1,749 ?million were $980 ?million higher than last year.

Chemical earnings of $790 ?million were $213 million lower than the third
quarter of 2011. Lower margins decreased earnings by $150 million. All
other items, mainly unfavorable foreign exchange effects, decreased
earnings by $60 million. Third quarter prime product sales of 5,947 ?kt
(thousands of metric tons) were 285 ?kt lower than last year's third
quarter due mainly to the Japan restructuring.

Corporate and financing expenses were $383 ?million for the third quarter
of 2012, down $263 million from the third quarter of 2011, due mainly to
favorable tax items.

During the third quarter of 2012, Exxon Mobil Corporation purchased 58
million shares of its common stock for the treasury at a gross cost of
$5.1 billion. These purchases included $5.0 billion to reduce the number
of shares outstanding, with the balance used to acquire shares in
conjunction with the company′s benefit plans and programs. Share
purchases to reduce shares outstanding are currently anticipated to
equal $5 ?billion in the fourth quarter of 2012. Purchases may be made in
both the open market and through negotiated transactions, and may be
increased, decreased or discontinued at any time without prior notice.

First Nine Months 2012 vs. First Nine Months
2011

Earnings of $34,930 ?million in the first nine months of 2012 increased
$3,270 million from 2011. Earnings per share increased 16% to $7.50.

FIRST NINE MONTHS HIGHLIGHTS

• 
  Earnings were $34,930 million, up 10%.
  
• 
  Earnings per share increased 16% to $7.50.
  
• 
  Oil-equivalent production was down 6.2% from 2011. Excluding the
  impacts of entitlement volumes, OPEC quota effects and divestments,
  production was down 1.6%.
  
• 
  Cash flow from operations and asset sales was $49.8 billion, including
  proceeds associated with asset sales of $6.9 billion.
  
• 
  The Corporation distributed nearly $23 billion to shareholders in the
  first nine months of 2012 through dividends and share purchases to
  reduce shares outstanding.
  
• 
  Capital and exploration expenditures were a record $27.4 billion.
  

Upstream earnings for the first nine months of 2012 were
$22,133 ?million, down $3,477 million from 2011. Production volume and
mix effects decreased earnings by $1.9 ?billion. Liquids and natural gas
realizations decreased earnings by $80 million. All other items,
including higher operating expenses and unfavorable tax effects, reduced
earnings by $1.5 billion.

On an oil-equivalent basis, production was down 6.2% compared to the
same period in 2011. Excluding the impacts of entitlement volumes, OPEC
quota effects and divestments, production was down 1.6%.

Liquids production of 2,179 ?kbd decreased 153 kbd compared with 2011.
Excluding the impacts of entitlement volumes, OPEC quota effects and
divestments, liquids production was down 1.8%, as field decline was
partly offset by project ramp-up in Angola and Nigeria.

Natural gas production of 12,249 ?mcfd decreased 739 ?mcfd from 2011.
Excluding the impacts of entitlement volumes and divestments, natural
gas production was down 1.3%, as field decline was partially offset by
higher demand and lower downtime.

Earnings from U.S. Upstream operations for 2012 were $2,321 ?million,
down $1,591 ?million from 2011. Earnings outside the U.S. were
$19,812 ?million, down $1,886 million.

Downstream earnings of $11,422 ?million in the first nine months of 2012
increased $7,388 million from 2011. Higher refining margins increased
earnings by $1.4 billion, while volume and mix effects increased
earnings by $140 million. All other items increased earnings by $5.8
billion due primarily to a $5.3 billion gain associated with the Japan
restructuring and other divestment gains. Petroleum product sales of
6,197 ?kbd decreased 189 ?kbd from 2011 due mainly to divestments and the
Japan restructuring.

U.S. Downstream earnings were $2,878 ?million, up $640 million from 2011.
Non-U.S. Downstream earnings were $8,544 million, an increase of
$6,748 ?million from last year.

Chemical earnings of $2,940 ?million for the first nine months of 2012
were $900 ?million lower than 2011. Margins decreased earnings by $920
million. Volume and mix effects lowered earnings by $60 million. All
other items increased earnings by $80 million, as a $630 million gain
associated with the Japan restructuring was mostly offset by unfavorable
foreign exchange effects and higher operating expenses. Prime product
sales of 18,256 ?kt were down 479 ?kt from 2011.

Corporate and financing expenses were $1,565 ?million for the first nine
months of 2012, down $259 million from 2011 due primarily to the Japan
restructuring.

Gross share purchases through the first nine months of 2012 were $15.8
billion, reducing shares outstanding by 185 million shares.

Estimates of key financial and operating data follow.

ExxonMobil will discuss financial and operating results and other
matters on a webcast at 10 a.m. Central time on November 1, 2012.To
listen to the event live or in archive, go to our website at exxonmobil.com.

Cautionary statement

Statements relating to future plans, projections, events or
conditions are forward-looking statements.Actual results,
including project plans, costs, timing, and capacities; capital and
exploration expenditures; resource recoveries; and share purchase
levels, could differ materially due to factors including: changes in oil
or gas prices or other market or economic conditions affecting the oil
and gas industry, including the scope and duration of economic
recessions; the outcome of exploration and development efforts; changes
in law or government regulation, including tax and environmental
requirements; the outcome of commercial negotiations; changes in
technical or operating conditions; and other factors discussed under the
heading 'Factors Affecting Future Results' in the 'Investors? section of
our website and in Item 1A of ExxonMobil's 2011 Form 10-K.Completion
of pending acquisitions will depend on the terms and timing of
government approvals and other conditions to closing contained in the
applicable agreements.We assume no duty to update these
statements as of any future date.References to quantities of oil
or natural gas may include amounts that we believe will ultimately be
produced, but that are not yet classified as 'proved reserves? under SEC
definitions.

Frequently used terms

Consistent with previous practice, this press release includes both
earnings excluding special items and earnings per share excluding
special items.Both are non-GAAP financial measures and are
included to help facilitate comparisons of base business performance
across periods.Reconciliation to net income attributable to
ExxonMobil is shown in Attachment II.The release also includes
cash flow from operations and asset sales.Because of the regular
nature of our asset management and divestment program, we believe it is
useful for investors to consider proceeds associated with the sales of
subsidiaries, property, plant and equipment, and sales and returns of
investments together with cash provided by operating activities when
evaluating cash available for investment in the business and financing
activities.A reconciliation to net cash provided by operating
activities is shown in Attachment II.Further information on
ExxonMobil's frequently used financial and operating measures and other
terms is contained under the heading 'Frequently Used Terms' available
through the 'Investors? section of our website at exxonmobil.com.

Reference to Earnings

References to total corporate earnings mean net income attributable
to ExxonMobil (U.S. GAAP) from the income statement.Unless
otherwise indicated, references to earnings, special items, earnings
excluding special items, Upstream, Downstream, Chemical and Corporate
and Financing segment earnings, and earnings per share are ExxonMobil's
share after excluding amounts attributable to noncontrolling interests.