Exxon Mobil reports $680M loss in 3Q

NEW YORK — Exxon Mobil reported its third consecutive quarter of losses as the global pandemic curtailed travel and crippled global economic activity. The energy giant on Friday posted a $680 million third quarter loss and revenue tumbled to $46.2 billion, down from $65.05 billion during the same quarter last year. The string of losses and what by almost all counts will be a money-losing year is new territory for Exxon Mobil, which has not posted an annual loss since Exxon and Mobil merged in 1999. “This is a business that’s made a billion dollars a quarter on average from 2011 to 2018 and it’s had a rough go,” said Peter McNally, global sector chief for industrials, materials and energy at Third Bridge, a research firm. Already struggling with weak prices from oversupply, for oil and gas companies pain has been intensified by the pandemic. The price of U.S. benchmark crude has fallen 40% since the start of the year. The cost for a barrel of oil tumbled 10% just this week as coronavirus infections surged in the U.S. and abroad. Commuting to work has largely ended for millions of people. Air travel this year fell to levels not seen in the jet age and the economy suffered its worst contraction in decades as factories and other big energy consumers shut down. All indications point to a Thanksgiving celebrated close to home, and in smaller numbers this year. Exxon has begun slashing costs to offset falling energy demand, and that means jobs. A day after announcing 1,900 job cuts, Exxon said on Friday that it plans to cut 15% of its global workforce by the end of next year, about 11,250 jobs. The company employed 75,000 people at the end of 2019. Chevron also announced job cuts Thursday after closing on its acquisition of Noble Energy earlier this month, saying it would trim the head count at that company by about a quarter. “We remain confident in our long-term strategy and the fundamentals of our business, and are taking the necessary actions to preserve value while protecting the balance sheet and dividend,” said Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods in a prepared statement. Exxon said Friday that it may divest $25 billion to $30 billion in North American dry gas assets, and that it would cut capital expenditures to between $16 billion and $19 billion next year. That would follow a year in which Exxon reduced capital spending by 30%, to $23 billion. “We are on pace to achieve our 2020 cost-reduction targets and are progressing additional savings next year as we manage through this unprecedented down cycle,” Woods said.