Exxon’s First-Quarter Profit Declines Less Than Expected

Exxon Mobil Corp. posted higher-than-expected profit as international sanctions against Russian interests clouded the U.S. oil explorer’s efforts to tap some of the world’s biggest crude reserves.

First-quarter net income was $9.1 billion, or $2.10 a share, compared with $9.5 billion, or $2.12, a year earlier, the Irving, Texas-based company said in a statement today. Per-share profit exceeded all 20 estimates from analysts in a Bloomberg survey and surpassed the average by 22 cents.