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ExxonMobil profit surges to record 14.8 billion dollars

NEW YORK - US oil giant ExxonMobil shook off economic troubles and hurricanes to post a record third-quarter profit of 14.83 billion dollars, up 58 percent from a year ago, the company said Thursday.

The latest report pushed up profits for the first nine months of 2008 to 37.4 billion dollars, putting the biggest oil and gas company toward another record year for earnings.

The results translated to a profit of 2.86 dollars per share, or 2.59 dollars excluding special items, ahead of market expectations of 2.39 dollars.

Revenues in the July-September period jumped 34 percent to 13.73 billion dollars.

Third-quarter earnings excluding special items worth 1.45 billion dollars were a record 13.38 billion dollars, up 42 percent from the 2007 third quarter.

‘ExxonMobil's strong results in the third quarter of 2008 demonstrate the continued success of our disciplined business approach,’ ExxonMobil chairman Rex Tillerson said.

‘Despite the continuing uncertainty in world financial markets, ExxonMobil has maintained a strong financial position,’ he said.

The July-September financial results include the impacts of hurricanes Gustav and Ike which rocked US Gulf Coast operations. Most of the operations shuttered by the storms are back on line or are in the final phases of start-up.

‘We responded quickly and effectively to maximize supplies of gasoline and other products to the marketplace,’ Tillerson said.

The company endured a 50 million dollar increase in pre-tax costs due to the hurricanes and a reduction in production of 24,000 oil equivalent barrels per day. The fallout from damage repairs and lower output was forecast to shave some 500 million dollars off fourth-quarter earnings.

Tillerson said full-year capital and exploration investments were expected to reach some 25 billion dollars, in line with previous guidance.

Those investments rose to 6.9 billion dollars in the third quarter, up 26 percent from a year ago. For the first nine months, they amounted to 19.3 billion dollars.

‘Through these investments we continue to make a substantial contribution to employment and economic activity in the countries in which we operate,’ Tillerson said.

Third-quarter net income included an after-tax special gain of 1.62 billion dollars from the sale of a natural gas transportation business in Germany and an after-tax special charge of 170 million dollars reflecting a provision for interest related to the Valdez punitive damages award.

The US Supreme Court in June rejected as excessive 2.5 billion dollars in punitive damages awarded to victims of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill disaster off the coast of Alaska and ordered it cut to 507.5 million dollars.

The company had operational assets of about 17 billion dollars on September 30, including asset sales of $2.6 billion.