August 2, 2012:

U.S. oil refiner Western Refining Inc posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit helped by lower operating costs and higher output. Total refinery output rose 3 percent to 157,960 barrels per day (bpd) for the first quarter. Output at its refinery in El Paso, Texas rose 1 percent to 132,157 bpd. Earnings rose to $238.5 million, or $2.19 per share, for April-June from $101.1 million, or 94 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, Western Refining earned $1.89 per share. Sales fell 4 percent to $2.47 billion. Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $1.68 per share on revenue of $2.19 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Operating costs fell 14 percent to $1.78 billion, the El Paso-based company said. Western Refining shares closed at $23.26 on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

By Reuters