Exxon Mobil’s Q2 income falls 52% due to low oil prices

Exxon Mobil’s (XOM) second quarter net income fell 52% to $4.2 billion, becoming the latest in a string of energy companies whose profits are sinking along with oil prices worldwide.

Earnings per share totaled $1 vs. $1.11 estimated by analysts.

“Our quarterly results reflect the disparate impacts of the current commodity price environment,” said Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson in a statement released by the Irving, Texas-based company Friday.

Exxon shares were down 3.4% to $80.16 midday Friday.

Revenue fell 33% to $74.1 billion. It was the company's "worst quarterly performance in six years," according to Bloomberg News.

A steep downturn in its main business -- drilling for and operating oil wells -- was largely to blame for the company's weak performance. Earnings from oil and natural gas production totaled $2 billion during the quarter, cut by more than half from $5.9 billion a year ago.

Earnings from its refinery business rose to $1.5 billion from $795 million. Oil sales of 5.7 million barrels per day were 104,000 per-day barrels lower than a year ago, Exxon said.

Chemical earnings rose by $405 million to $1.2 billion.

"A significant oil discovery" was made in Guyana 120 miles offshore, Exxon said. Production at the company’s expansion project in Alberta, Canada, started ahead of schedule, "doubling gross capacity to 220,000 barrels of bitumen per day," it said.