OREANDA-NEWS. November 05, 2013. Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC) reported third-quarter earnings of USD 168 million, or USD 0.54 per diluted share, compared with USD 1.22 billion, or USD 3.59 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2012.

For the third quarter of 2013, earnings adjusted for special items were USD 183 million, or USD 0.59 per diluted share, compared with earnings adjusted for special items of USD 1.13 billion, or USD 3.31 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2012.

"During the quarter, we returned nearly USD 1.2 billion of capital to our shareholders through a combination of dividends and share repurchases," said MPC President and Chief Executive Officer Gary R. Heminger. "On Sept. 26, the MPC board of directors approved an additional USD 2 billion share repurchase authorization through September 2015. This underscores our ongoing commitment to returning capital to our shareholders on a sustained basis while making value-enhancing investments in the business."

Heminger noted that since becoming a publicly traded company in June 2011, MPC has increased its dividend 110 percent and has repurchased nearly USD 3.7 billion, or 17 percent, of its shares. As of Sept. 30, the company had USD 2.3 billion remaining under its share repurchase authorizations.
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MPC's results were supported by consistent financial performance from its Pipeline Transportation segment and strong performance in the company's Speedway retail segment. "Speedway's excellent results reflect an increase in same-store sales, along with higher gasoline and distillate gross margins," said Heminger. "We are investing in Speedway's continued success through an expansion of growth opportunities. By adding new convenience stores in Pennsylvania and Tennessee, we have increased the number of states in which Speedway has operations from seven to nine."

Heminger noted that during the third quarter, MPC and the refining industry as a whole faced lower crack spreads, narrower crude oil differentials, and backwardation in the crude oil market compared to the third quarter of 2012. Additionally, MPC experienced lower product price realizations compared to spot market reference prices, which the company believes was due in part to the relatively higher cost of renewable identification numbers. "We believe U.S. refiners will continue to benefit from the projected significant growth in North American oil and natural gas production, along with past refinery investments in clean fuels production that is bolstered by strong global demand for refined products," Heminger said. "In addition to improved future market conditions for the domestic refining industry, we expect to benefit from investments in our midstream operations, including those in MPLX LP, which will increase earnings and cash flow for this growing component of our business."