US oil majors see rising net income, revenue in Q1

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK (AA) - Major American oil companies ExxonMobil and Chevron saw their net income revenue rise significantly in the first quarter of this year, according to the firms' financial result statements announced Friday.

ExxonMobil saw its net income rise 22 percent to $4 billion in the first quarter, from $1.8 billion in the same period last year.

Revenue rose 30 percent to $63.3 billion, from $48.7 billion, year-over-year.

The company managed to decrease its capital and exploration expenditure by 18 percent to $4.2 billion in the January-March period, from $5.1 billion a year ago.

"Our results reflect an increase in commodity prices and highlight our continued focus on controlling costs and operating efficiently," Chairman and CEO Darren W. Woods said in a statement.

After strong financial results, ExxonMobil saw its stock price rise 1.6 percent to $82.56 per share on Friday, after closing at $81.26 a share on Thursday.

Chevron also saw its revenue increase by 42 percent to $33.4 billion, from $23.5 billion, year-over-year.

The company had a net loss of $725 million in the first quarter of last year, but posted a net income of $2.7 billion in the first three months of this year.

Capital expenditure was also lowered by 32 percent to $4.4 billion, from $6.5 billion, during that period.

"We continue to make good progress on reducing our spend,” Chairman and CEO John Watson said in the statement. “We benefitted from increasing crude oil prices and ongoing efficiencies being implemented across the company," he added.

Chevron saw its stock price rise two percent to $107.60 per share on Friday, after closing Thursday at $105.47 a share.