Exxon third-quarter profit rises 3 percent on refining

(Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp , the world's largest publicly traded oil company, on Friday reported a better-than-expected 3 percent increase in quarterly profit on higher results in its refining and chemicals businesses. Share rose nearly 1.4 percent to $95.75 in premarket trading. "Exxon Mobil’s quarterly results demonstrate the strength of our integrated business model," Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson said in a statement. Integration across the company's exploration and production, refining and chemicals businesses provides a competitive advantage regardless of market fluctuations, said Tillerson. Profit in the third quarter rose to $8.07 billion, or $1.89 per share, from $7.87 billion, or $1.79 per share in the year-ago period. Analyst, on average, expected a profit of $1.71 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Oil and gas production fell 4.7 percent, the Irving, Texas company said. Exxon said it remained on track for full-year output of 4 million barrels oil equivalent per day (boed). Profit in its refining business soared to $1.024 billion from $592 million a year earlier. Exxon's chemicals unit had a profit of $1.2 billion, up 17 percent from a year earlier. Earnings in Exxon's exploration and production business fell 4.4 percent to $6.4 billion as lower crude oil prices took a toll. (Reporting by Anna Driver in Houston; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)