Exxon earnings down 46 per cent

IRVING, TEXAS — Exxon earned $4.94 billion US in the first quarter, a huge sum but only about half of what the company made last year.

Lower oil prices depleted both Exxon’s top and bottom lines.

It was the lowest firstquarter profit for ExxonMobil Corp. in six years, although the results still beat Wall Street expectations.

Exxon said last month that it would trim capital spending this year by 12 per cent, to $34 billion US.

In the first quarter, overall production rose two per cent despite a dip in natural gas output. Revenue fell 36 per cent, to $67.62 billion US.

Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson told an industry conference last week that low prices are “going to be with us for a while.”