Exxon’s annual profit gushed while high prices, war surged
NEW YORK — Exxon Mobil posted record annual profits in 2022 as Americans struggled with high prices for gasoline, home heating and consumer goods.
The oil giant brought in $12.75 billion in profits in the fourth quarter, bringing annual net income to $55.7 billion. That exceeds Exxon’s previous record of $45.22 billion in 2008, when a barrel of oil soared close to $150.
Revenue was $95.43 billion.
Recovering demand and tight energy supplies helped boost profit, the Irving, Texas, company said this week.
“While our results clearly benefited from a favorable market, the counter-cyclical investments we made before and during the pandemic provided the energy and products people needed as economies began recovering and supplies became tight,” said CEO Darren Woods. “We leaned in when others leaned out.”
Exxon achieved its best-ever annual refining throughput in North America
and the highest globally since 2012, the company said. It mechanically completed the expansion of its Beaumont Refinery in Texas and expects to bring 250,000 barrels per day of crude oil distillation capacity to the market in first quarter of this year.
Much of the nation’s refining capacity taken offline during the pandemic has yet to return, Woods said during a conference call with investors, which drove refining margins higher.
Exxon earned $3.09 per share in the quarter. That was lower than the expectations of analysts polled by Factset, who were anticipating $3.29 per share.
The price of oil ranged between $70 to $90 for a barrel of U.S. benchmark crude during the quarter. Domestic natural gas prices, which affect the cost of home energy and electricity, ranged from $6 to $7 per million British thermal units during the quarter, according to FactSet, which was a higher price than most Americans have paid in recent years.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago, it has decreased its supply of natural gas to Europe. That in turn resulted in higher prices for natural gas and its liquid counterpart, LNG, on the global market.
President Joe Biden has accused oil companies of profiting from the war Russia has been waging on Ukraine, and has previously raised the possibility of a war profit tax on oil companies. Exxon said it incurred $1.3 billion during the quarter in connection with European taxes on the energy sector and asset impairments.
“A windfall tax on oil and gas profits is needed more than ever, to free up money that’s desperately needed to help those struggling with the cost of energy, and as economies around the world face recession,” said Jonathan Noronha-Gant, senior campaigner with Global Witness, a nonprofit organization that advocates for environmental sustainability and corporate responsibility.
The European Union imposed a windfall tax on energy companies last fall, and Exxon filed a lawsuit challenging the tax in December.