Third quarter earnings were up for Houston’s Phillips 66 as the company reported earnings of $1.5 billion, up from the $1.3 billion reported in the second quarter of the year.
The company said excluding special items of $36 million in the third quarter, its adjusted earnings were $1.5 billion.
“We demonstrated the value of our integrated portfolio, delivering strong earnings and advancing strategic growth projects in the third quarter,” said Greg Garland, chairman and CEO of Phillips 66. “In the Central Corridor, Refining and Midstream ran at record levels, capturing favorable margins.”
During the quarter, the company began construction of two new fractionators and additional storage at the Sweeny Hub, and approved a new project to further expand crude oil storage at the Beaumont Terminal. The Gray Oak Pipeline project continues to progress toward a late-2019 completion, with 900,000 barrels per day of crude oil capacity.
“Over the last six years, we have repurchased or exchanged nearly 30 percent of our initial shares outstanding, contributing to record adjusted earnings per share this quarter,” added Garland. “We continued our commitment to shareholder distributions, returning $775 million through dividends and share repurchases in the third quarter and $5.2 billion for the year. We believe strong shareholder distributions remain fundamental to disciplined capital allocation.”
Midstream third-quarter net income was $240 million, compared with $202 million in the second quarter of 2018. Midstream results in the third quarter of 2018 included $21 million in expenses related to claims and pension settlement.
Transportation third-quarter adjusted net income of $175 million was $38 million higher than second-quarter adjusted net income of $137 million, mainly reflecting higher volumes and improved tariff and storage rates, as well as lower operating costs.
NGL and Other adjusted net income for the third quarter was $64 million, a $14 million increase from the second quarter, primarily due to increased volumes on the Sand Hills and Southern Hills pipelines, as well as propane and butane trading activity.