Exxon Mobil Corp reported a 66 percent drop in quarterly profit, falling short of Wall Street expectations, as natural gas and crude oil prices slid from a year ago and the global recession hurt demand for fuel.

It looks disappointing, said Phil Weiss, an analyst at Argus Research. They missed on margins and production.

Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, said second-quarter net income was $3.95 billion, or 81 cents per share, down from $11.68 billion, or $2.22 per share, a year earlier.

Earnings excluding one-time items were $4.09 billion, or 84 cents per share. Analysts on average had expected $1.02 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue fell 46 percent to $74.46 billion.

Production fell 3 percent from a year earlier, the Irving, Texas, company said.

Shares of Exxon were around $69.70 in premarket trade, down from a New York Stock Exchange close of $71.43 on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Anna Driver in Houston; editing by John Wallace)

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