"During the third quarter, refining and chemicals results continued to be impacted by weak demand, but our other businesses continued [image-nocss] to generate steady earnings," said Lynn L. Elsenhans, Sunoco's chairman and CEO. "The earnings contribution from our nonrefining businesses improved to $102 million in the third quarter, up from $78 million in the second quarter. Retail Marketing benefited from stable wholesale prices, earning $49 million."
Commenting on the company's outlook, Elsenhans said, "We continue to expect a challenging market for petroleum and chemical products due to ongoing economic weakness and additional global supply; however, the company has taken steps to improve our competitive cost position and optimize our portfolio and operational performance."
Refining & Supply had a loss from continuing operations totaling $118 million in the current quarter versus income of $398 million in third-quarter 2008.
Retail Marketing earned $49 million in the current quarter versus $72 million in third-quarter 2008. The decrease in earnings was primarily due to lower average retail gasoline margins, partially offset by lower expenses. Sales volumes were relatively flat versus the year-ago quarter. Retail gasoline margins in third-quarter 2008 benefited from the rapid decrease in wholesale prices during that period.
Sunoco, headquartered in Philadelphia, is a leading manufacturer and marketer of petroleum and petrochemical products. With 825,000 barrels per day of refining capacity, approximately 4,700 retail sites selling gasoline and convenience items, approximately 6,000 miles of crude oil and refined product owned and operated pipelines and approximately 40 product terminals, Sunoco is one of the largest independent refiner-marketers in the United States.
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