(Reuters) – Phillips 66 posted quarterly earnings almost a dollar more than Wall Street estimates on Friday, as the U.S. refiner capitalized on mounting demand for fuel due to a loosening up of coronavirus restrictions.
Although refiners had to deal with surging crude oil costs, gasoline and jet fuel demand rocketed in the last three months of 2021 as domestic and international travel opened up in the United States. Products supplied by refineries surged in the second week of December to 23.2 million barrels per day. (Graphic: U.S. refined product demand returns to pre-pandemic level U.S. refined product demand returns to pre-pandemic level, https://graphics.reuters.com/VALERO-RESULTS/GRAPH/zjpqkaqyjpx/chart.png)
Phillips 66’s refining business posted an adjusted pre-tax income of $404 million in the third quarter, compared with an adjusted pre-tax loss of $1.1 billion last year, helped by higher margins and improved volumes.
Shares in Phillips 66 were up marginally at $86.12 in choppy premarket trading.
The Houston, Texas-based company said its fourth-quarter realized refining margins rose to $11.60 per barrel from $8.57 per barrel in the third quarter.
Its adjusted net income of $2.94 per share for the quarter ended Dec. 31 handily beat analysts’ average estimate of $1.95, according to Refinitiv data.
The company’s results echo that of rival Valero Energy Corp, which on Thursday posted quarterly earnings well above market estimates.
(Reporting by Shariq Khan and Rithika Krishna in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)
