Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM: chart) reported net income of $7.86 billion, or $1.22 a share, up vs. $5.44 billion, or 83 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding a $460 million gain from the company's sale of its shares in China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., known as Sinopec, Exxon's earnings would have been $7.4 billion, or $1.15 per share.

The company's combined oil and gas production slid by 4.7% from the year-ago quarter. Excluding asset sales and the effects of production-sharing contracts, total production dropped by 2%.

Battle Creek, Michigan-based Kellogg Co. (K: chart) on Thursday said 1Q earnings climbed 16% and raised its profit outlook for the full year bolstered by cost cuts and sales of new products.

Net income increased to $254.7 million, or 61 cents per share, a penny above analysts' estimate of 60 cents a share.

Sales advanced 8% to $2.6 billion, beating analysts' estimate of $2.52 billion.

Kellogg expects its full-year earnings to drop at the high end of an earlier forecasted range of $2.28 per share to $2.32 per share. Analysts are expecting earnings of $2.32 per share to $2.55 per share, with an average estimate of $2.38 per share for the year.

El Segundo, California-based Unocal Corp. (UCL: chart) said Thursday that 1Q profit surged 69% from last year due to strong crude-oil and natural-gas prices. Net income jumped to $454 million, or $1.66 a share, from $269 million, or $1 a share, last year. Excluding a $22 million gain from the sale of Unocal's stake in Hindustan Oil Exploration, which was shadowed by $11 million in provisions for environmental and litigation matters, Unocal earned $441 million, or $1.62 a share, in the latest quarter.

Total revenue for the company climbed to $2.16 billion from $1.82 billion last year.

The Canadian insurer Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF: chart) said on Thursday its 1Q profit gained 25% on a strong domestic division.

The company said net income for the quarter climbed to $458 million Canadian dollars ($366 million), or 77 Canadian cents a share, from $365 million Canadian dollars, or 61 Canadian cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter.

Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific Corp. (GP: chart), the forest and paper products maker, on Thursday reported price climbs for building products increased quarterly profit 40%, even though raw material costs continued to rise across the company’s businesses.

Net income climbed to $205 million, or 78 cents a share, compared with $147 million, or 57 cents, a year earlier. Before items, the company earned 78 cents a share, topping analysts' forecast of 72 cents.

Utility Cinergy Corp. (CIN: chart), which owns several Midwest utilities, on Thursday reported higher 1Q, fueled by results from its wholesale power businesses.

Net income climbed to $117 million, or 60 cents a share, vs. $103 million, or 57 cents a share, a year ago.

Excluding special items, the company earned 72 cents per share. Analysts on average expected earnings of 75 cents a share.

Cinergy backed its outlook for full-year earnings of $2.70 to $2.85 a share.

Advanced Neuromodulation Inc. (ANSI: chart) on Thursday posted stronger quarterly earnings, due to higher sales of its neurostimulation products and a big gain from the sale of its stake in Cyberonics.
First-quarter net income climbed to $57.57 million, or $2.76 per share, vs. $3.97 million, or 19 cents per share, in the year earlier period. Quarterly revenue rose 21.4% to $32.34 million.

The company forecast net income for the full year to be between $3.49 to $3.52 per share, on revenue of $145 million.