BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. ExxonMobil has announced a surge in its chemical products earnings, reaching $785 million in 1Q2024, Trend reports.
According to the company, this marked an increase of $414 million compared to the same period last year.
Despite prevailing bottom-of-cycle conditions, the company experienced improved results, attributed to higher margins stemming from lower North American feed costs and increased margins from performance chemicals. These gains more than offset the decline in industry margins for polyethylene and polypropylene.
The bolstering of earnings was further propelled by the growth in advantaged performance product volumes, a reflection of strategic investments such as the recent Baytown Chemical Expansion. Additionally, base volumes saw an uptick, benefiting from reduced scheduled maintenance and enhanced reliability during weather events along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
In comparison to 4Q2023, ExxonMobil's earnings witnessed a substantial upswing of $596 million. This improvement can be attributed to the absence of identified items from the prior quarter, primarily associated with asset impairments and other financial reserves, which boosted earnings by $388 million.
Excluding identified items, earnings surged by $208 million from the fourth quarter, driven by increased base volumes and enhanced margins resulting from the strengthening of the North American feed advantage, Exxon noted.