UPDATE 2-Marathon Petroleum tops quarterly profit on robust demand, lower costs
(Adds shares, revenue and other details from results from paragraph 3)
Jan 30 (Reuters) -
Marathon Petroleum beat quarterly profit estimates on Tuesday as the top U.S. refiner was aided by sustained demand and lower costs, which helped offset a drop in refining margins.
Despite an increase in global refining capacity, supplies of fuel remain tight amid production cuts by OPEC+ countries and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The company's fourth-quarter revenue of $36.82 billion topped Wall Street's expectations of $35.25 billion, according to LSEG data, backed by higher sales volumes.
Its refining and marketing margin was $17.79 per barrel for the October to December quarter, compared with $28.82 per barrel for the fourth quarter of 2022.
Maintenance costs in the refining segment also fell to $299 million, from $442 million in the year-ago quarter.
Findlay, Ohio-based Marathon's shares gained 2.7% in premarket trading.
Last week, rival Valero Energy beat profit estimates on the back of resilient margins.
Marathon said crude capacity utilization was 91%, resulting in a total throughput of 2.9 million barrels per day (bpd) for the reported quarter, higher than last year.
The company reported adjusted net income of $3.98 per share for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of $2.20 per share.
It expects capital spending of $1.25 billion in 2024. (Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
