Exxon Mobil Corporation announced estimated second-quarter 2022 earnings of $17.9 billion, or $4.21 per share assuming dilution. Second-quarter results included a favorable identified item of nearly $300 million associated with the sale of the Barnett Shale Upstream assets. Capital and exploration expenditures were $4.6 billion in the second quarter and $9.5 billion for the first half of 2022.
“Earnings and cash flow benefited from increased production, higher realizations, and tight cost control,” said Darren Woods, chairman and chief executive officer. “Strong second-quarter results reflect our focus on the fundamentals and the investments we put in motion several years ago and sustained through the depths of the pandemic.”
“Key to our success is continued investment in our advantaged portfolio, including Guyana, the Permian, global LNG, and in our high-value performance products, along with efforts to reduce structural costs and improve efficiency. We're also helping meet increased demand by expanding our refining capacity by about 250,000 barrels per day in the first quarter of 2023 - representing the industry's largest single capacity addition in the U.S. since 2012. At the same time, we’re supporting the transition to a lower-emission future, growing our portfolio of opportunities in carbon capture and storage, biofuels, and hydrogen.”
Financial Highlights:
- Second-quarter earnings of $17.9 billion compared with $5.5 billion in the first quarter of 2022. Excluding identified items, earnings of $17.6 billion increased $8.7 billion from the prior quarter, driven by a tight supply/demand balance for oil, natural gas, and refined products, which have increased both natural gas realizations and refining margins well above the 10-year range.
- Cash increased by $7.8 billion in the second quarter, as strong cash flow from operating activities more than covered capital investments and shareholder distributions. Free cash flow in the quarter totaled $16.9 billion. Shareholder distributions were $7.6 billion for the quarter, including $3.7 billion of dividends.
- Net-debt-to-capital ratio improved to 13% reflecting a period-end cash balance of $18.9 billion. The debt-to-capital ratio was 20%, at the low-end of the company's target range.
- Effective April 1, to improve the effectiveness of operations and to better serve customers, the Corporation formed ExxonMobil Product Solutions, combining world-scale Downstream and Chemical businesses. The company also centralized Technology & Engineering and Operations & Sustainability groups to further capture the benefits of technology, scale, and integration. The company has changed its segment reporting to reflect the new structure.
Chemical Products second-quarter 2022 earnings were $1.1 billion compared to $1.4 billion in the first quarter. Reliable operations and cost discipline drove strong earnings despite margins being impacted by higher ethane feed costs in North America, a stronger U.S. dollar, higher planned seasonal expenses, and lower volumes driven by China lockdown demand impacts and logistics constraints.
Earnings were $1.1 billion lower compared to second-quarter 2021 on reduced industry margins and unfavorable foreign exchange effects. Year-to-date earnings totaled $2.5 billion compared to $3.6 billion in the first six months of 2021. Lower margins due to rising North America feed costs, increased project and planned maintenance expenses, and unfavorable foreign exchange effects were partially offset by higher volumes.
