(Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp said on Wednesday it will grow its dividend and cut debt through 2025, ahead of a closely watched investor meeting that comes a month after the top U.S. oil and gas producer reported a historic annual loss.
In the recent months, the company has faced immense pressure from investors who want it to do more to rein in spending and cut carbon emissions.
Exxon and the rest of the oil industry endured one of the worst market downturns last year as the COVID-19 pandemic hammered energy prices and forced shale operators to slash the value of their assets by billions of dollars.
The company reaffirmed its plans to keep capital spending between $16 billion and $19 billion in 2021 and between $20 billion and $25 billion a year through 2025 on high return.
Separately, Exxon has also announced a 7% reduction in its Singapore workforce and detailed a plan to achieve $6 billion in annual savings by the end of 2023.
Exxon shares were up 1.3% in premarket trading.
(Reporting by Shariq Khan in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
