SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Oil refiner Valero Energy Corp. on Monday reported that its third-quarter profit more than doubled due mostly to high crude prices and wide refining margins, and the company said it expects to post record earnings in the last three months of the year.
San Antonio-based Valero, the nation's largest refiner, also announced that longtime chief executive Bill Greehey will step down at year-end but that he will remain the company's chairman and active in its operations.
Net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 surged to $858 million, or $2.94 per share. That compares to $431 million, or $1.57 per share, in the same period in 2004.
Excluding a $621 million inventory charge related to its September acquisition of Premcor Inc., Valero's earnings were $1.3 billion, or $4.37 per share. That surpassed the average estimate of $4.23 per share by analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
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