With a refinery in Tulsa and another in El Dorado, Kansas, HollyFrontier Corporation based in Dallas, Texas is reporting first quarter net income of more than $268 million.
It translates into a $1.50 per diluted share for stockholders. The $268.1 million compares with the net loss of $45.5 million reported one year ago.
The company said it reflects special items that collectively increased net income by a total of $130.8 million. Excluding the special items, net income for the current quarter came to $137.3 million compared to the net loss of $33.4 million reported at the end of the first quarter of 2017.
HollyFrontier’s President & CEO, George Damiris, commented, “HollyFrontier’s strong financial results reflect our ability to capitalize on the refining margins and crude spreads available during the first quarter. To date, crude spreads have been consistent, and we are optimistic about refining and lubricant margins going into the summer.”
Within the refining segment, crude oil charges averaged 415,260 barrels per day (“BPD”) for the current quarter compared to 371,070 BPD for the first quarter 2017. On a per barrel basis, consolidated refinery gross margin was $12.83 per produced barrel, a 70% increase compared to $7.54 for the first quarter of 2017.
Earnings before taxes came to $88.5 million in the first quarter and the company said the growth was driven by the acquisition of the SLC and Frontier Pipelines and its crude gathering system in the Permian Basin.
Net cash for the first quarter came to $333.8 million, an increase of $373.2 million compared to the first quarter of last year.