(Reuters) -Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly profit topped Wall Street’s estimate on Tuesday, becoming the latest U.S. refiner to benefit from robust fuel demand and refining margins amid tight supplies.
Shares rose 2.1% in pre-market trade to $116.
U.S. refiners are posting bumper profits with refineries running at record levels this year, strong export demand amid a squeezed supply due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and plant closings.
Marathon’s refining and marketing margin doubled to $30.21 per barrel for the reported quarter compared with last year.
Crude capacity utilization in the third quarter was about 98%, resulting in total throughput of 3 million barrels per day (bpd), which is 7% higher than a year earlier.
For the current quarter, the company expects refinery throughput to be 2.9 million bpd.
“Market demand for our products remains strong, and our third-quarter results reflect our improving operational and commercial execution,” Chief Executive Michael Hennigan said in a statement.
Against the backdrop of bumper results, the refiner also increased its dividend by 30% to 75 cents per share on Tuesday.
The sector has drawn criticism from President Joe Biden, who said refiners were putting profits ahead of consumers and urged them to expand capacity.
Rival Valero Energy, which also beat profit estimates on strong margins last week, added it continues to maximize refining utilization.
Net income attributable to the company stood at $4.5 billion, or $9.06 per share, for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, up from $694 million, or $1.10 per share, a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Marathon reported a profit of $7.81 per share, beating average analysts’ estimate of $7.07 per share, according to Refinitiv data.
(Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
