Exxon Mobil said today quarterly profit jumped 44 per cent on rising oil prices.
Net income in the first quarter rose to $7.86 billion from $5.44 billion in the same quarter in 2004 - although the results fell short of Wall Street expectations.
Revenue in the quarter rose 21 per cent from year earlier to $82.05 billion, but sales were down from the fourth quarter of last year - snapping a string of seven straight quarters of sequential revenue growth for the oil company.
Exxon posted $83.4 billion in revenue in the 2004 fourth-quarter. Awash in cash thanks to record energy prices, the company said it would buy back $3.5 billion in stock in the second quarter, up from $2.5 billion in the first quarter.
The energy sector has enjoyed an unusually rosy environment in recent months, as sharp rises in crude oil prices and soaring refining margins send profits skyrocketing and leave companies flush with cash.
But pulling up production has remained a challenge, as the large Western oil majors face mature oilfields in traditional exploration areas such as the Gulf of Mexico and limited access to oil-rich regions like the Middle East and Russia.
Profit at Exxon's refining and marketing operations rose to $1.14 billion, helped by better US refining margins but partly offset by weaker marketing conditions.