Exxon Sees Record Profits for Any U.S. Co.

[Reality]

What else is new?
Related: Enron Jury Pool Told Not to Seek Vengeance
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060130/ap_on_bi_ge/enron_trial
I'm hearing the legal demons are saying Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling have an excellent chance to skate.
 
Anyone watch "The Smartest Jerks in the Room" - the Enron movie?  

DALLAS - Exxon Mobil Corp. posted record profits for any U.S. company on Monday — $10.71 billion for the fourth quarter and $36.13 billion for the year — as the world's biggest publicly traded oil company benefited from high oil and gas prices and demand for refined products. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations and Exxon shares rose nearly 3 percent in morning trading.

The company's earnings amounted to $1.71 per share for the October-December quarter, up 27 percent from $8.42 billion, or $1.30 per share, in the year ago quarter. The result topped the then-record quarterly profit of $9.92 billion Exxon posted in the third quarter of 2005.

Exxon's profit for the year was also the largest annual reported net income in U.S. history, according to Howard Silverblatt, a stock market analyst for Standard & Poor's. He said the previous high was Exxon's $25.3 billion profit in 2004.

Exxon's results lifted the combined 2005 profits for the country's three largest integrated oil companies to more than $63 billion.

ConocoPhillips said last Wednesday that its fourth-quarter earnings rose 51 percent to $3.68 billion, while annual income climbed 66 percent to $13.53 billion. Two days later, Chevron Corp. said its fourth-quarter earnings rose 20 percent to $4.14 billion, while annual income jumped 6 percent to $14.1 billion.

The oil industry's stellar results renewed talk among some politicians for a windfall profit tax that would push companies to invest more in new production and refining capacity.

Sen. Babara Boxer, a California Democrat who sharply criticized oil executives appearing before Congress in November, struck again on Friday. She called on the Bush Administration and the Federal Trade Commission to "put an end to gouging," then suggested that FTC stood for "Friend to Chevron."

But John Felmy, chief economist for the American Petroleum Institute, a Washington-based trade group, said Monday that the political rhetoric was "not a case based on fact."

"We invested somewhere in the order of $86 billion last year," Felmy said. "Then we have to treat investors appropriately otherwise we'd have the Eliott Spitzers of the world coming after us."

The results for Exxon's latest quarter included a $390 million gain related to a litigation settlement. Excluding special items, earnings were $10.32 billion, or $1.65 per share. The result topped Wall Street's expectations. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial predicted earnings of $1.44 per share.

Exxon shares rose $1.87 to $63.16 in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

Quarterly revenue ballooned to $99.66 billion from $83.37 billion a year ago but came in shy of the $100.72 billion Exxon posted in the third quarter, which was the first time a U.S. public company generated more than $100 billion in sales in a single quarter.

By segment, exploration and production earnings rose sharply to $7.04 billion, up $2.15 billion from the 2004 quarter, reflecting higher crude oil and natural gas prices. Production decreased by 1 percent due to the lingering effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which battered the Gulf Coast in August and September.

The company's refining and marketing segment reported $2.39 billion in earnings, as higher refining and marketing margins helped offset the residual effects of the hurricanes.

Exxon's chemicals business saw earnings, excluding special items, decline by $413 million to $835 million, as higher materials costs squeezed margins.

For the full year, net income surged to $5.71 per share from $3.89 per share in 2004. Annual revenue grew to $371 billion from $298.04 billion.

To put that into perspective, Exxon's revenue for the year exceeded Saudi Arabia's estimated 2005 gross domestic product of $340.5 billion, according to statistics maintained by the     Central Intelligence Agency.

[rickortreat]

You can expect this to continue for quite some time as the Japanse- Bernake liquidity bubble turns into more and more inflation.

The world runs on oil, and Exxon Mobile supplies a lot of it to a lot of people.

As far as Lay and Skilling go, these guys are crooks, pure and simple.  I very much doubt they will get off, unless Bush pardons them, which would be political suicide even for him.

Enron was so fradulent in it's activities for these guys to get off would be almost as much of a miracle as the second comming!

[Guest_Randy]

I think the only way that you can say that Enron is guilty of fraud and the oil companies aren't is simply "scale."  Enron was guilty of manipulating (and lying) in order to gain huge profits -- the oil companies have ALL done that.  They have manipulated the prices by shutting down refineries on the premise of being more "efficient" only to work together to gouge us in the price of oil.  It's not crude oil prices that is causing the price of gas to soar -- it's the refining process (that's where Exxon, etc. is gouging everyone).  Enron was guilty of manipulating the energy market to gain more profits -- that's EXACTLY what the oil companies are doing (and everyone seems to look the other way).

Granted, the Enron execs who lied about the bottom line to sell stock?  That's just adds to their lying and cheating.  They ought to receive life in prison without the possibility of parole.

However, back to the original point -- if two companies get together and "set prices" it's called illegal -- but oil companies can do this because they have lined the pockets of politicians!

[rickortreat]

Surprise, the administration is comprised of oil men,  Bush had an oil company (which he ran into the ground)  Cheney was CEO of Halliburton, and Condoleeza has a Tanker named after her.

These people are all crooks, and bilk the US public every chance they get.

Lay and Skilling are friends with Bush, but the dirt on them is so bad, that Bush won't stick his neck out for these guys.

Think of all the people who were out of work, or lost retirement savings while working for Enron or Arthur Anderson.  In terms of damage and suffering to the public, these guys should get the death penalty!   :nod:  

[Reality]

Think of all the people who were out of work, or lost retirement savings while working for Enron or Arthur Anderson.  In terms of damage and suffering to the public, these guys should get the death penalty!   :nod:

Did you watch "Enron -The smartassest Crooks in the Room" yet?

I have not.

Concur white collar crime is far more damaging in terms of damage to lives then Joe Sixcrack down on his fortunes who horks your boombox.

[rickortreat]

No, I didn't, but Im sort of glad I haven't.  I'm so morally outraged that seeing one more example might drive me to leave the US.

Gold just got hammered yesterday out of nowhere.  Biggest down day in 13 yrs.  And, there was no valid reason for it from a fundamental standpoint.

Wait a little while to see where the price finds a bottom.  If it goes to around $530 I'll be buying with both fists.
 

[Reality]

Got a question for those who say the U.S. is "one nation, under God"...this is but one display of greed that how in Gods name could it could possibly be said "under God".

White House may waive near $7 bln in oil, gas royalties:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The government may waive up to $7 billion in royalty payments from companies pumping oil and natural gas on federal territory in the next five years, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing administration officials and budget documents.

The royalty relief would amount to one of the biggest giveaways of oil and gas in U.S. history, even though the administration assumes oil prices will remain above $50 a barrel throughout that period, the Times report said.

The report cited estimates in the Interior Department's recent budget plan that would allow companies to pump about $65 billion in oil and natural gas without paying royalties.

Administration officials cited by the report said the benefit stems from regulations dating back to 1996, when energy prices were relatively low and lawmakers wanted to encourage exploration in higher cost areas such as the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Much of the oil and gas from such leases is just beginning to be pumped due to the time required to explore deep waters and build large offshore platforms.

 :bs: "We need to remember the primary reason that incentives are given," :bs:  said Johnnie M. Burton, director of the federal Minerals Management Service, according to the report. "It's not to make more money, necessarily. It's to make more oil, more gas, because production of fuel for our nation is essential to our economy and essential to our people."


Reuters Photo: Workers are seen at a U.S. oil refinery in an undated file photo. The government...