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EARNINGS ROUNDUP

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Times Wire Reports

Exxon Mobil Corp. reported a fourth straight drop in profit Thursday after demand fell for fuels to run cars, factories and airplanes.

Third-quarter net income declined 68% to $4.73 billion, or 98 cents a share, from $14.8 billion, or $2.85, a year earlier, the Irving, Texas, company said. Per-share profit was 4 cents lower than the average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg.

Exxon Mobil’s revenue plunged 40% to $82.3 billion. Global oil demand fell enough to fill 62 supertankers, spurring a drop of almost $50 in the average price of a barrel of crude, and U.S. natural-gas futures dropped 62% as factories were idled by the recession.

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Exxon Mobil’s U.S. refineries, which generated profit of $978 million a year earlier, lost about $2.3 million a day as fuel prices slumped. The company said it was halving share buybacks to $2 billion in the current quarter.

Shares of Exxon Mobil rose 12 cents to $73.96.

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