Marathon nets $1B in 2nd quarter
Company more than doubles earnings from same quarter in 2018.
Marathon executives touted earnings of more than a billion dollars in the second quarter this year, and said the company is making progress in a proposed merger with a Texas-based refining company.
Those earnings are more than double Marathon’s reported earnings of about $483 million for the same quarter last year. The company, based in Findlay, cited strong earnings in its refining and marketing and logistics and storage operations.
Marathon is the parent company of Speedway, a convenience store chain headquartered in Enon. Speedway is a major employer in the region and already operates 2,744 convenience stores in 21 states. The solid quarter was partially offset by lower earnings in the Speedway segment, according to the company.
“We delivered an outstanding quarter,” said Gary Heminger, Marathon’s chairman and CEO. “Our ability to execute and capture opportunities in a volatile commodity environment demonstrated the power of our integrated business model and drove extraordinary results.”
The company’s refining and marketing segment reported earnings of just more than $1 billion, compared to $562 million during the same period last year. Marathon’s midstream segment, which includes its logistics operations, also reported earnings of $617 million, compared to $332 million in the second quarter last year.
The Speedway segment reported earnings of $159 million, down from $238 million during the second quarter last year. Several factors played a role in the lower earnings, including expenses that increased $24 million compared to the same time last year due to higher benefit and labor costs, according to information from the company. Speedway also saw smaller profit margins from fuel sales.
Company officials said Marathon is also moving forward with two separate acquisitions.
This spring Speedway announced a transaction in which the chain purchased about 80 convenience stores held by the Petr-All Petroleum Consulting Corporation in New York state. That deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year, according to information from the company.
Marathon is also moving forward with plans to buy Andeavor, a Texas-based refining company for $23.3 billion, creating a new combined company with an extensive reach across the U.S. Marathon will likely close that deal in the second half of 2018, subject to other regulatory and customary closing conditions.