Yemisi Izuora
ExxonMobil posted its first quarterly loss following its 1999 merger as the US oil company grapple with the crash in crude.
Exxon revealed Friday a surprise loss of $610 million during the first three months of the year.
The poor performance was driven by a $2.9 billion charge linked to writedowns from the collapse in oil prices.
The biggest US oil company, Exxon has never reported a quarterly loss since its mega merger with Mobil in November 1999 as Shares fell 4 per cent Friday morning.
Exxon is hunkering down to defend their coveted dividends from cheap oil as it announced it will slash its 2020 spending by 30 per cent to $23 billion. The company also plans to cut operating expenses by 15 per cent.
“Our company remains strong and we will manage through the current market downturn as we have for decades,” Exxon CEO Darren Woods said in a statement. “Today’s circumstances are certainly unique, but our people have the experience, our business has the scale, and we have the financial strength to see us through and emerge stronger than ever.”