(Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, posted a quarterly profit on Thursday that easily beat Wall Street's expectations as higher natural gas prices offset a dip in oil production.
The company reported first-quarter net income of $9.10 billion, or $2.10 per share, compared with $9.50 billion, or $2.12 per share, in the year-ago quarter.
Exxon Mobil's results surpassed analysts' expectation for profit of $1.88 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Production fell about 6 percent to 415,100 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed), though the company said higher prices for natural gas offset the dip.
On Wednesday the company raised its quarterly dividend by 10 percent.
Shares of Exxon rose 0.6 percent to $102.98 in premarket trading on Thursday.
(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Sofina Mirza-Reid)
