The company reported net earnings of $64.2 million or 95 cents per diluted share for full-year 2008. Excluding the noncash lower [image-nocss] of cost or market inventory writedown, net earnings were $110.6 million or $1.63 per diluted share for full-year 2008. This compares to net earnings of $238.6 million or $3.53 per diluted share for 2007.
"Given the significant volatility in crude oil and finished product prices that the industry experienced throughout the year, we are pleased with our operating earnings and operating cash flow generation," said Paul Foster, Western's CEO. "As a result of the initiatives implemented throughout 2008, and the low-sulfur gasoline project at El Paso, which will be completed in the second quarter 2009, we believe we have positioned ourselves to be more profitable in the future, even in a low-margin refining environment. The initiatives we will have implemented at our four refineries would currently result in savings in excess of $300 million per year."
Commenting on current market conditions, Foster said, "Refining margins in our markets are typically weaker in the first quarter; however, they were strong in the months of January and February, and we expect to have continued strong margins in our markets in the month of March as we move into the driving season. This is in stark contrast to the first quarter of 2008 when we posted a loss of $40.4 million or [a loss of] 60 cents per diluted share. With the improvements we have made at our refineries and the robust margins we have experienced to date in the quarter, the first quarter of 2009 has the potential to be one of our most profitable quarters."
Western Refining is an independent refining and marketing company headquartered in El Paso, Texas. It has a refinery in El Paso, two refineries in the Four Corners region of northern New Mexico and a refinery in Yorktown, Va. Western's asset portfolio also includes refined products terminals in Albuquerque, N.M., and Flagstaff, Ariz., a fleet of crude oil and finished product truck transports, and wholesale petroleum products operations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. It also owns and operates approximately 160 convenience stores and gas stations located in New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado. The company markets under its own brands of Giant, Mustang and Sundial. A number of locations feature the brands of other oil companies and license Western branded fuel to other retail stores.
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