Exxon Mobil First-Quarter Profit Down 58%

Updated from 1:27 p.m. EDT

Exxon Mobil (XOM) said first-quarter earnings fell 58% from a year ago due to the global slowdown and sharply lower commodity prices.

The Irving, Texas-based company recorded a quarterly profit of $4.55 billion, or 92 cents a share, falling from $10.89 billion, or $2.02 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue was slashed nearly in half from a year ago, falling to $64 billion from $116.9 billion.

Analysts expected Exxon to report a profit of 95 cents a share on revenue of $54 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Lower crude oil realizations reduced earnings by approximately $4.4 billion in the first quarter, while lower natural gas prices decreased earnings about $500 million, Exxon said. Higher operating expenses cut earnings by around $300 million.

Exxon said capital and exploration expenses rose 5% from a year earlier to $5.77 billion. The company also said that excluding the impact of entitlement volumes, OPEC quota effects and divestments, oil production was up 2% in the quarter.

Additionally, Exxon said stock buybacks of $7 billion reduced shares outstanding by 1.9% during the first quarter.

After coming up short of analysts' first-quarter profit estimates, shares of Exxon finished down 2.6% to $66.67. By comparison, Chevron (CVX) slid 2.2%, BP (BP) finished down 1.5%, ConocoPhillips (COP) gave back 1.2%, and Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) slipped 0.6%.

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