Showing posts with label exxon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exxon. Show all posts

Friday 22 June 2012

Investor's Checklist: Energy

The profitability of the energy sector is highly dependent on commodity prices.  Commodity prices are cyclical, as are the sector's profits.  It's better to buy when prices are at a cyclical low than when they're high and hitting the headlines.

Even though the sector is largely cyclical, many energy companies keep their bottom lines black during the troughs.  Look for this characteristic in your energy investments.

OPEC is a highly beneficial force in the energy sector because it keeps commodity prices above its costs.  It is worth keeping tabs on the cartel's strength.

Because of OPEC, we view exploration and production as a much more attractive area than refining and marketing.

Working in a commodity market, economies of scale are just about the only way to achieve a competitive advantage.  As such, bigger is generally better because firms with greater heft tend to be more profitable.

Keep an eye on reserves and reserve growth because these are the hard assets the company will mine for future revenue.

Companies with strong balance sheets will weather cyclical lows better than those burdened with debt.  Look for companies that don't need to take on additional debt to invest in new projects while also paying dividends or repurchasing shares.


Ref:  The Five Rules for Successful Stock Investing by Pat Dorsey



Read also:
Investor's Checklist: A Guided Tour of the Market...

Sunday 11 October 2009

Exxon regains top ranking

Exxon regains top ranking

Tags: Exxon Mobil Corp | PetroChina Co | Ranking

Written by Joe Carroll & Edward Klump
Thursday, 08 October 2009 11:13

CHICAGO/HOUSTON: Exxon Mobil Corp regained its ranking as the world’s most valuable company, overtaking PetroChina Co after Chinese price controls failed to keep pace with rising crude costs, squeezing profits on refined fuels.

State-controlled PetroChina’s Shanghai-traded shares have dropped 2.2% since Sept 2, when the Chinese government last raised domestic prices for gasoline and diesel. Exxon Mobil rose 0.7% in the same period to a market capitalisation of US$330 billion (RM1.13 trillion), compared with US$325.5 billion for PetroChina.

Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil, which traces it roots to the 1880s and John D Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Trust, lost the top ranking to PetroChina on May 25, after China’s stimulus plan caused a surge in stock prices. PetroChina’s 14% return on capital is less than half of Exxon Mobil’s 36%, the highest among the world’s biggest 10 oil companies by sales, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Exxon is a solidly run company, one of the best managed companies out there,” said Philip Weiss, an analyst at Argus Research in New York who has a “buy” rating on Exxon Mobil shares and owns none. “It’s very conservatively run, has a good solid resource base, generally provides good returns to shareholders.”

Exxon Mobil’s annual sales are more than twice those of PetroChina. The company had US$425 billion in sales last year, or US$60.45 for every man, woman and child on the planet.

Exxon Mobil rose US$1.08, or 1.6%, to US$68.66 on Tuesday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. PetroChina’s Shanghai shares haven’t traded since Sept 30 because of National Day holidays. The company’s Hong Kong shares climbed 2.8% to HK$9.16 (RM4.05) as of 11.24am local time yesterday.

Year to date, Exxon Mobil is still down 14%, the worst performance among seven integrated oil companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500. The company said Sept 9 that it may fail to meet its 2009 target for 2% output growth.

“My general view on Exxon is it represents a nice core holding in any portfolio that wants exposure to energy,” Weiss said. “You’re not going to get the best returns out of Exxon, but you’re not going to get the worst, either.”

Oil futures traded in New York have jumped 60% this year, heading for the biggest gain in a decade amid signs that demand for petroleum-based fuels such as gasoline is rebounding after a recession-driven collapse. China has allowed filling stations to raise gasoline and diesel prices this year by 19% and 18%, respectively.

China, which ranks behind only the US in energy consumption, on Sept 30 withdrew 37% of the fuel-price increase granted on Sept. 2.

The government has raised fuel prices four times and lowered them on three occasions this year under a system introduced in December to take into account fluctuations in the costs for oil purchased by refiners, according to the National Development and Reform Commission. The government policy allows prices to be changed when crude costs fluctuate more than 4% over 22 working days.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which jumped 87% in this year’s first seven months, has fallen 19% since then. The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 blue-chip US stocks, including Exxon Mobil, has risen 6.1% since the end of July. — Bloomberg


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, October 8, 2009.