Exxon Mobil profits fall 58 percent to $4.6B

[April 30, 2009]  HOUSTON (AP) -- Exxon Mobil says its first-quarter profit fell 58 percent as the world's biggest publicly traded oil company, like smaller rivals, encountered far lower year-over-year oil and gas prices.

Exxon Mobil Corp., based in Irving, Texas, said Thursday that earnings for the first three months of the year came to $4.6 billion, or 92 cents a share, down from $10.9 billion, or $2.02 a share, a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were looking for net income of 95 cents a share.

Revenue fell 45 percent to $64 billion from $116.9 billion a year ago. Analysts, on average, had forecast revenue of about $54 billion, Thomson Reuters said.

Still, the company increased capital spending in the first quarter from a year ago.

[Associated Press; By JOHN PORRETTO]

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