Exxon Mobil said yesterday its quarterly profit edged up, helped by higher earnings in its chemicals business but oil and gas production fell.

Earnings per share topped Wall Street expectations but the gains largely came after a big stock buyback that reduced the number of outstanding shares by 5 per cent.

“Their reliance on share buybacks mutes the earnings per share beat,” said Brian Youngberg, energy company analyst at Edward Jones in St Louis. “I’d rather see them give the cash to shareholders in the form of a dividend increase.”

First-quarter profit for the world’s largest publicly traded oil company was $9.5 billion or $2.12 per share, compared with $9.45 billion or $2 per share a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected the Texas company to report a profit of $2.05 per share. – (Reuters)