Soaring energy prices lifted Exxon Mobil Corp.'s fourth-quarter profit to nearly $11 billion, leaving the world's biggest publicly traded oil company with a $36.13 billion profit in 2005 - a record in U.S. corporate history.
The results, reported Monday, rest on nearly $100 billion in sales, putting Exxon Mobil's fourth quarter on a par with New Zealand's economy for the full year. They also surpassed most analysts' already bullish forecasts in what has been a year of unparalleled profits for Big Oil.
The profits come at a time when U.S. consumers, complaining about price-gouging, have criticized Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil , among others, for not doing enough to develop new sources of fuel.
Let's not leave this day without noting that Exxon Mobil got lucky. The "soaring energy prices" that "lifted" their profit sounds like the hand of god taking care of them. But it doesn't work that way. The prices at the pump that you and I paid came from their greed, not their good luck, unless you call a hurricane-driven oil worries and troubles in Nigeria good luck.
"There is a great deal of public interest in global energy prices," CEO Rex Tillerson said in a statement. "We recognize that consumers worldwide want and need reliable supplies of affordable energy -- to fuel their vehicles, light and heat their homes and run their businesses," he said. "Our strong financial results will continue to allow us to make significant, long-term investments required to do our part in meeting the world's energy needs."
Isn't Rex noble! Of course "meeting the world's energy needs" also means price gouging making another spectacular god-given profit in coming quarters, don't it, Rex! Let's put Exxon's profits in perspective:
Exxon Mobil's annual sales are worth more than the gross domestic products of countries such as Sweden, Taiwan and Indonesia and its cash reserve is more than enough to cover the entire foreign debt of the Philippines.
