The world's largest oil company ExxonMobil
pocketed $15.9 billion in net earnings in the second quarter,
a 48 percent jump over the same period in 2011, the Texas-based
company said Thursday.
But the figure fell short of analysts' expectations, as the
company struggled against stalled demand in the world's largest
economies and falling prices for oil and natural gas. Sales rose 1.5
per cent to 127.4 billion dollars.
The net earnings represented in part special asset sales and tax
benefits, which in effect meant profits were only 8.4 billion
dollars, the company said. Profits in the same period 2011 were 10.7
billion dollars.
The oil giant pumped about 4.15 million barrels of crude a day
from April to June, the lowest in two years. Exxon head Rex Tillerson
referred to "global economic uncertainty" as a cause for the
company's current situation.
Earlier this month, Bloomberg news agency reported that ExxonMobil
was considering selling some of its 1,100 German petrol stations,
possibly to a Russian or East European firm, which could generate an
estimated 1 billion euros (1.2 billion dollars).
