(Reuters) -Marathon Petroleum Corp on Tuesday beat Wall Street expectations for quarterly profit as refining margins soared amid tight supplies and higher demand for refined products.
Profits last year from turning oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel hit multi-decade highs as refineries ran at full throttle to meet rising demand amid a supply squeeze following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and plant closings.
Marathon’s crude capacity utilization was about 94%, resulting in total throughput of 2.9 million barrels per day (bpd) for the fourth quarter, which was roughly flat year-over-year.
Refining and marketing margin rose to $28.82 per barrel for the reported quarter compared with last year’s $15.88 per barrel.
The Findlay, Ohio-based refiner said adjusted net income stood at $3.1 billion, or $6.65 per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $5.67 per share, according to Refinitiv data.
(Reporting by Arunima Kumar in BengaluruEditing by Vinay Dwivedi)
