At the risk of continuing this non-mg thread I felt I had to get my 2
cents in since their have been so many posts about oil company
profits. Oil company profits when compared to other companies are
not out of line. They have made better profits over the last few
years as the worldwide demand for oil has skyrocketed. China is now a
major user of oil. The big numbers we here about oil company
revenues being highest in history are true but that means only that
there is a big market for oil. According to the Washington Post,
Exxon had a profit of 10% in the first quarter of this year and
demand went up 1. 7 % for the quarter.
Much of the Exxon profit came because their refineries managed to
stay open while other companies could not keep them open.
Now compare that to the greedy taxation place on oil and gas. The
average US tax on gas is more around the range of 15 to 20%. The
average is about currently 40 to 50 centers per gallon according to
the Congressional Budget Office. Now if Exxon has a profit of 10%
and gas costs $3.00 that is 30 cents compared to the 15 percent taken
by the government.
Certainly 10% profit is not unreasonable for a company. You local
car dealer makes more like 30% on a car without an investment - they
borrow to put the cars on their lot.
In terms of return per share, Oil companies are not that high
either. Record profits in 06 for Exxon were about $1.71 per share
which and a share was $75. While the stock has risen in the last
year the current dividend yield is 1.53% according to CNNMoney.com
_______________________________________________
Edit your replies
Mgs@autox.team.net
http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/mgs
|