U.S. oil and gas major Exxon Mobil signaled yesterday that its second-quarter earnings could see a boost of about US$5 billion compared to the previous quarter, as oil prices skyrocketed during the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and the company’s refining margins also improved, according to Reuters.
Benchmark Brent crude had an average closing price of $96.68 per barrel during the April-June quarter, up 23% from the first three months of the year. Prices climbed to $109.27 a barrel in April for the first time since 2022, Reuters said.
Exxon’s upstream segment could see profits lifted by about US$1.6 billion, according to the midpoint of estimates provided by the company.
Earnings from refining could also see a lift of about $2.6 billion due to so-called timing effects, according to Exxon’s regulatory filing on Tuesday.
Exxon took a multi-billion dollar hit in the first quarter due to financial hedging related to physical deliveries of cargoes. It said at the time that the positions would unwind and lead to profitability in subsequent quarters.
The company will report second-quarter results on July 31.
Analysts expect Exxon to report US$15.7 billion in adjusted earnings for the quarter, according to consensus analyst estimates compiled by LSEG, about triple first quarter earnings.
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