(Reuters) -A drop in oil prices likely cut Exxon Mobil’s upstream third-quarter profits by $600 million to $1 billion, the oil giant signaled in a regulatory filing published on Thursday.
Oil prices fell 17% in the third quarter, the biggest quarterly decline in a year, on concerns about the outlook for global oil demand. Brent futures settled at $71.77 per barrel on the last trading day of the quarter.
The company indicated in its earnings snapshot that weaker refining margins during the quarter would also hurt profits by up to $1 billion. Global fuel markets have been hit by weaker consumer and industrial demand, especially in China, where economic growth is slowing and electric vehicle use is increasing.
Exxon shares closed Thursday at $122.58 each. In after-hours trading they were only 1 cent higher.
Exxon posted $7.07 billion in upstream profits for the second quarter and net income of $9.1 billion in the year-ago quarter, or $2.25 per share.
Analysts expect the industry giant to post adjusted earnings of $1.97 per share in the third quarter, according to LSEG estimates.
(Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru and Liz Hampton in Denver; Editing by Tasim Zahid, Alan Barona and David Gregorio)
