Leading oil company ExxonMobil has said its second-quarter profits were steady at $10.26 billion as lower earnings from exploration were offset by gains in refining and marketing.
The net earnings for the world's most profitable publicly-traded company in 2006 were down just 1% from the same period a year ago.
The results amounted to a profit of $1.83 per share, well below the average Wall Street estimate of $1.96.
Revenues were down less than 1% from a year ago at $98.4 billion for the company, which is among the world's biggest in terms of revenue and market value.
So-called upstream earnings fell about 17% from a year ago to $5.95 billion on reduced profits from oil and gas exploration and because last year's results included special gains from asset sales and tax benefits.
Downstream profits rose 36%, however, because of higher margins on refining and marketing and the sale of a German refinery.
