Marathon Petroleum smashed quarterly profit estimates on Tuesday, August 2, becoming the latest US refiner to benefit from a surge in fuel prices sparked by tight capacity and low inventories.
The company’s refining and marketing margins tripled to $37.54 per barrel in the April-June quarter, mirroring similar gains at rivals such as Phillips 66, and sending Marathon’s shares four percent higher in premarket trading.
Global refining capacity has declined over the past two years, as lower demand due to the pandemic forced several less profitable operations to shut shop, and while Western sanctions against Russia tightened an already-supplied market.
However, Marathon’s refineries ran at nearly full capacity in the second quarter, resulting in a total throughput of 3.1 MMbpd, compared with utilization of 94 percent and a total throughput of 2.9 MMbpd a year earlier.
For the third quarter, the company expects a throughput of 2.9 MMbpd.
The company posted an adjusted income of $5.69 B, or $10.61 per share, the largest in at least five years, according to Refinitiv data. The figure sailed past the average analyst estimate of $8.04 per share.
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