ExxonMobil on Friday reported a loss for the second straight quarter this year due to a sharp decline in energy demand and prices caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company also announced a plan to cut spending further. Exxon’s loss in the second quarter stood at $1.1 billion, marking the company’s first consecutive quarterly loss in at least 36 years, but relatively smaller than those of rivals.
ExxonMobil slashed its 2020 capex by 30% to around $23 billion, and Senior VP Neil Chapman said it would spend less than $19 billion in 2021, marking the company’s lowest spending since 2005. Chapman noted that the top US oil producer would defend dividend by cutting both opex and capex. He also noted that Exxon would not take on more debt in the short term to manage the current situation.
Chevron’s Q2 loss of $1.08 billion translates to a loss per share of 26 cents, compared to a $3.13 billion profit or 73 cents/share, in the second quarter of 2019. On that adjusted basis, its loss per share was 70 cents, compared to analyst’s estimate of 61 cents/share loss. Exxon’s upstream production decreased by 7% to 3.6 million bpd in the period, reflecting curbed output due to a collapse in oil prices.
Weaker output prices caused Exxon’s production business to post a loss of almost $1.7 billion, swinging from a $3.3 billion profit a year earlier. Its refining arm generated a $976 million operating profit, attributed to a gain of about $3.5 billion from non-cash inventory revaluations. Exxon’s Chemical segment made an operating profit of $467 million, higher than $188 million profit a year earlier.
