Exxon third-quarter profit up 58%

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Houston, October 30: : Exxon Mobil Corp posted another record quarterly profit on Thursday, beating estimates, on higher crude oil prices and improved margins in its refining business.

Shares of Exxon rose 1.3 per cent in premarket trading.

Despite turmoil in the global financial markets, Exxon said it would stick to its plans to spend about $25 billion in 2008.

Energy investors are concerned that the credit crisis will trigger a global recession and cut demand for oil. As a result, the spending plans for oil majors like Exxon will be carefully scrutinized.

Profit in the third quarter for the world's largest publicly traded company was $14.83 billion, or $2.86 per share, compared with $9.4 billion, or $1.70 per share in the same period a year ago.

"U.S. downstream was up from last year, so that was a positive surprise," said Gene Pisasale, senior energy analyst with PNC Capital Advisors "They have the strongest balance sheet in the business."

Still, Exxon will need to be more aggressive in exploration going forward, the analyst said.

Excluding a gain related to the sale of a natural gas transportation business in Germany, Exxon earned $13.38 billion, or $2.59 per share. The huge profit was another record for the oil producer, and the largest ever for any US publicly traded company on an operating basis.

Analysts had expected the Irving, Texas, company to report a profit of $2.38 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

The company said it was still recovering from Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, which cut its third-quarter production by 24,000 barrels oil equivalent per day.

The storms, which battered the US Gulf Coast, are expected to reduce the company's fourth-quarter earnings by about $500 million, Exxon said.

Production decreased 8 per cent from a year ago.

Earnings in Exxon's exploration and production unit, excluding the sale of the German gas business, were $9.35 billion, up $3 billion from a year ago.

The company's refining arm saw profits rise by $1 billion to $3 billion.

During the quarter, the oil company purchased $8 billion of its shares, reducing the number outstanding by 2.1 per cent.