By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) stock traded 0.3% higher in premarket Tuesday after the company suggested its first quarter profit could be its highest since 2014.
Provisional numbers from the company for its quarter ended March 31 indicate operating profits from oil and gas could touch $9.3 billion when the company declares its numbers on April 29.
The boom in profits comes on the back of record-high oil and gas prices which have continued to make new peaks, most recently pushed higher by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Booming economies, harsh winters, and a stubborn OPEC+ that has been slow to raise output have otherwise kept the prices up.
International crude futures touched a 14-year high of almost $140 a barrel during the quarter.
The estimates suggest total earnings for the quarter of about $9.8 billion at the mid-point of Exxon's estimates, Reuters quoted Scotiabank global equity research as saying.
Impairments to Exxon Mobil 's Russian operations could hurt the final results. The company last month said it would exit Russia, joining rivals and other companies following the invasion of Ukraine.
It holds a 30% stake in the Sakhalin-I offshore oil asset in Russia’s Far East and has $4 billion in assets at risk. It faces a 1-2% hit to production and revenue from the move.
Operating profits in refining could touch $1.8 billion, $300 million higher than the fourth quarter figure while the chemicals business could erode as much to $1 billion.