Finland Times

Exxon Mobil Corp., the largest U.S. oil company, reported on Friday a profits loss of nearly 60 percent in its second quarter of this year as compared with the same period of last year.

The Texas-based Exxon Mobil blamed the sharply lower oil prices and weaker refining margins for its profits drop in the second quarter.

The company's profits in the second quarter of this year dropped to 1.7 billion U.S. dollars and its revenues reduced by more than 20 percent, to 57.7 billion dollars from 74.1 billion dollars from the same period of last year, Exxon Mobil said in a statement issued on Friday.

In the first half of this year, the company's profits fell by more than 60 percent to 3.5 billion dollars from 9.1 billion dollars from the corresponding period of last year. Revenues in the first six months of this year plunged by 25 percent to 106.4 billion dollars from 141.7 billion dollars in the same period of last year.

Exxon Mobil reduced its capital and exploration spending by almost 40 percent, to 5.2 billion dollars from 8.3 billion dollars last year.