From: "Gary Britt" 

That indicates how pitifully low their profits were as a percentage of
sales in the prior year.  The post Katrina profits don't exceed 10% as a
percentage of sales.  In line with or less than the corporate average.

Gary

"Geo"  wrote in message
news:439e11b1$2{at}w3.nls.net...
> Stop please, you can play with your numbers all you like but:
>
> Profits of major oil companies reached $43.3 billion in the first half of
> 2005, some 42 percent higher than in the same period last year
>
>
http://www.conocophillips.com/newsroom/other_resources/energyanswers/oil_profit
s.htm
>
> And that's not including the even higher profits during the hurricanes and
> the extra profits the refinery makes or the extra that's being charged for
> crude oil being pulled out of the ground here in the states. Your silly
11%
> number is based on JUST the increase after the first half of 2005, ie it's
> ON TOP of the 42% increase.
>
> Geo.
>
> "Gary Britt"  wrote in message
> news:439cff6b$1{at}w3.nls.net...
> > The oil companies are NOT making outrageous profits.  I thought you were
> > smarter than to fall for these old democrap lies.  Even right now, those
> so
> > called record profits that were just announced as a percentage of sales
> are
> > NOT as high as the average percentage of profit on sales that exists for
> all
> > corporations.  Oil companies record profits are around 7% of sales and
the
> > average for all corporations is around 11%.  Most of the oil companies
> > "record profits" are paper generated inventory
valuation profits caused
by
> > fluctuations in oil prices.  Those prices go up they make more on paper.
> > Then they go down and they lose more on paper.  Their net profit on
sales
> > and cash flow however are NOT as high as the average corporation.
>
>
>

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