New York: ExxonMobil, the world's largest public oil company, yesterday reported quarterly profit surged 35 per cent to more than $10 billion, driven by yet another quarter of sharply higher oil prices.
The results sailed past Wall Street forecasts and sent its shares to an all-time high, but quickly triggered a fresh wave of outrage from US lawmakers and consumer groups angry at Big Oil's profiting handsomely while petrol prices soar.
"While American families get tipped upside down and have their savings shaken out of their pockets at the petrol pump, the Bush-Cheney team devises even more ways to line Big Oil's pockets," Representative Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, said. He is a member of the US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee.
In a surprise move, Exxon notorious for rarely changing its plans no matter how high oil prices are boosted its capital spending forecast for the year to $20 billion, citing fresh exploration and production opportunities.
The company said it planned to raise its stock buyback programme to $7 billion in the third quarter to make use of its ballooning hoard of cash.
