A sign can be seen at the entrance to the ExxonMobil Port Allen Lubricants Plant in Port Allen, Louisiana, November 6, 2015.
Lee Celano | Reuters
Exxon Mobil said Tuesday it lost $ 20.1 billion during its most recent quarter, its fourth consecutive quarter of losses, as the energy giant continues to grapple with the pandemic’s impact on the industry.
Exxon said it earned 3 cents per share excluding items during the fourth quarter, which was higher than the 1 cent gain that analysts surveyed by Refinitiv expected. However, sales fell short of expectations and amounted to $ 46.54 billion. Street’s consensus was $ 48.76 billion.
During the same period a year earlier, the company earned 41 cents per share on an adjusted basis, on revenues of $ 67.17 billion. During the third quarter of 2020, Exxon lost 18 cents per share on an adjusted basis, while generating $ 46.2 billion in revenue.
Shares of Exxon were up about 2% during Tuesday’s premarket trading.
“The past year has been the most challenging market conditions ExxonMobil has ever experienced,” Darren Woods, Exxon chairman and CEO, said in a statement. Woods said the company’s aggressive cost-cutting measures are expected to deliver structural cost savings of $ 6 billion per year by 2023.
“We have developed a flexible capital program that is robust to a range of market scenarios and focuses on our highest return opportunities to generate greater cash flow, hedge dividends and increase the short and longer term profit potential of our business,” Woods added.
On Monday, Exxon announced plans to invest $ 3 billion in carbon capture and other emissions-reducing technology. Some say the move is too little and too late, who say Exxon should have prioritized investing for the future. Colleagues, including BP, have also set zero point targets.
Oil has been steadily picking up over the past year due to the unprecedented loss of demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. US West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose more than 2% on Tuesday to trade at a high of $ 54.96 a barrel, the highest contract level since January 2020. Still, the energy sector continues to feel the impact of subdued demand.
Shares of Exxon are up 9% this year and are down 27% in the last 12 months.
Rival Chevron said Friday it lost 1 cent during the fourth quarter on an adjusted basis, compared to the consensus estimate for a profit of 7 cents. Sales also lagged behind analysts’ expectations.
According to several reports, the CEOs of the two largest oil companies in the US have been in merger talks while Covid-19 started their activities. Exxon declined to comment, while a Chevron spokesman said the company is not commenting on “market rumors or speculation.”
Chevron’s shares are up 2% this year and down 19% in the past year.
Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live programming of working days from around the world.