Imperial Oil Ltd. , the Canadian subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corp. , posted a 36% decline in fourth-quarter earnings on Monday, hurt by lower oil prices and volumes. Imperial Oil said the continued slump in oil prices reduced earnings by about 100 million Canadian dollars ($78.7 million), while lower volumes shaved about C$50 million from profits. The Calgary, Alberta-based integrated energy company said its quarterly profit fell to C$671 million, or 79 Canadian cents a share, from C$1.06 billion, or C$1.24 a year earlier. Earnings came in ahead of the 72 Canadian cents a share analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting. Revenue of C$8.03 billion was down from C$8.36 billion a year earlier. Lower commodity prices also took a bite out of parent Exxon’s earnings. It reported a 21% drop in fourth-quarter earnings earlier Monday and unveiled plans to slash its share buyback program. Imperial Oil said production […]